The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Opposition criticises preventive arrests

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Tuesday, Aug 03, 2010
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Opposition criticises preventive arrests

Special Correspondent

VISAKHAPATNAM: Preventive arrests of all top-level leaders from Opposition parties in Visakhapatnam city on Monday to ensure they did not participate in the ‘Rail Roko' agitation is an undemocratic act of the State Government, Pratyeka Railway Zone Sadhana Committee convener J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy has said. Congress party leaders had promised to support the agitation by participating in it when an invitation was extended to them on Sunday and Tribal Welfare Minister P. Balaraju even promised to come to the venue, but contrary to that he failed to support a people's cause, the CPI leader has said.

State Government instead of taking into confidence all the opposition parties and discussing on the issue like it is done in Maharashtra, Bihar and Orissa, had instructed the police to wean away people from the agitation. In those states police provide protection to the activists to ensure there was no law and order problem.

This agitation was the first victory for the opposition parties and it would be intensified in the days to come, he said after being released from the IV Town Police station. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) District and City Committee secretaries Ch. Narasinga Rao and K. Lokanadham decried the arrests of all-party committee members.

They had to resort to agitation only because there was no response from the Central Government on the issue, they pointed out. The new zone based at Visakhapatnam should be carved out, Mr. Rao added.

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