Chandrababu Naidu Arrested
TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu, who was participating in a rasto roko in the Mahabubnagar district, was arrested, and was then released on bail.
Hyderabad | 19th May 2011
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Thursday conducted rasta rokos across the state, in an attempt to mount pressure on the government to come to the aid of farmers.
The members of the party blocked National Highways, and disrupted the flow of traffic in numerous regions including Mahabubnagar, Kadapa, Nellore, Chittoor and Tirupati.
TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu, who was participating in a rasto roko in the Mahabubnagar district, was arrested, and then released on bail.
On National Highway 9, a dharna was staged wherein the participants demanded that the government purchase the farmers' paddy at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
On National Highway 5, near Hanuman Junction, TDP members brought traffic to a standstill and cooked rice on the street.
In some regions across the state, tomato and sugarcane farmers demanded that the government increase the prices for their produce.
According to sources, police forces foiled a number of protests, and forcibly evicted the agitators from the site, in an attempt to restore normalcy to the region.
MLAs Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao and Sriram Tataiah were among those actively participating in the statewide protests.
TDP members, and Chandrababu Naidu in particular, found fault with the police for intervening in protests that were being conducted peacefully.
filed in: Protests, Farmers, Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao, Minimum Support Price