The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Rally by MPTCs turns violent

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Sunday, Jan 21, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Rally by MPTCs turns violent

Special Correspondent

Several activists suffer minor injuries in a scuffle with the police

PROTEST MODE: Agitating MPTC members being arrested by the police in Hyderabad on Saturday. — PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

HYDERABAD: A protest demonstration by members of the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) turned violent on Saturday as the police resorted to a mild lathicharge to abort their rally to the State Secretariat in support of their demands.

Several activists, particularly women, suffered minor injuries in a scuffle with the police when they tried to remove a barbed wire barricade. Police arrested over 200 persons and moved them to Nampally and other police stations.

Andhra Pradesh MPTCs Union president Y. Babu Rajendra Prasad along with several MPTCs began an indefinite fast demanding the Government to concede their charter of 39 demands for transfer of funds and functions. The union expressed anger over the Cabinet not taking notice of their agitation at its meeting here on Saturday.

Earlier, leaders of all the major Opposition parties leaders, including TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, BJP State president Bandaru Dattareya, TRS legislator T. Harish Rao and Lok Satta national coordinator N. Jayaprakash Narayan assured their cooperation to the union's struggle.

Naidu's appeal

Mr. Naidu wanted the MPTC members to work unitedly with the sarpanches in the development of the villages and said they should be cautious about the Government's moves to fuel differences between them. He assured that the Telugu Desam would provide honorarium of at least Rs. 2,000 a month for MPTC members as and when the party returned to power.

Mr. Dattatreya wanted the Government to concede the demands put forth by MPTCs before the notification for the Legislative Council elections was issued. Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan lamented that the MLAs and officials were not willing to give up the powers they enjoyed through "centralised misrule" even if the powers that be wanted to transfer them.

Local bodies hit

Mr. Harish Rao and the representatives of the Left parties lamented that the successive Governments that came to power in the State were weakening the local bodies by diverting the funds meant for them.

Congress spokesman N. Tulasi Reddy reiterated that the Government was committed to transfer all the funds and functions to local bodies and it was on the verge of announcing transfer of 10 more functions along with funds.

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Andhra Pradesh