Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday began his visit to Nellore amid heavy police presence to meet former minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy, who is in judicial custody at the district central jail.
The YSRCP has protested and criticised the heavy police deployment, alleging that it was aimed at preventing Jagan from interacting with his supporters and the general public.
Kakani Govardhan Reddy was arrested in May in an alleged illegal mining scam. Jagan is also scheduled to interact with Kakani’s family members.
The former CM will also visit the residence of former MLA Nallapureddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy in Nellore’s Sujathamma Colony to meet him and his family. Prasanna Kumar was recently questioned by police over his alleged objectionable remarks against women TDP MLAs.
There has been heavy police deployment in Nellore for Jagan’s day-long visit, with officers saying they anticipate that some miscreants may cause trouble. On June 20, chaos erupted during Jagan’s visit to Palnadu as YSRCP cadres and supporters tried to stop his vehicle to greet him, leaving two people dead, including 55-year-old Cheeli Singaiah, who was run over by Jagan’s vehicle when he slipped and fell in front of it while trying to shower it with flowers.
Nellore police have closed several roads, put up barricades, and advised against the assembly of a large number of people along Jagan’s route.
The YSRCP has alleged that the TDP-led NDA government in the state is misusing police to obstruct Jagan’s visit to Nellore. YSRCP General Secretary S V Satish Kumar Reddy and MLC Parvathareddy Chandrasekhar Reddy said that the government was trying to suppress democracy by issuing notices to over 2,000 citizens to stay away from the district central jail during Jagan’s visit. Police said the notices were issued to YSRCP cadres not to create traffic disruptions and prevent overcrowding at the central jail to prevent any untoward incident.
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YSRCP general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s government was rattled by Jagan’s tours, which he claimed continued to draw massive public support. He also said there was widespread public dissatisfaction with the coalition government’s governance in just a year of its tenure. He urged the government to significantly strengthen security arrangements for Jagan’s visits, noting the overwhelming public turnout at these events.
