The Odarpu Yatra (consolation tour) of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, had to be called off after Telangana agitators prevented him from stepping onto Telangana soil.
Telangana has erupted once again.
The Odarpu Yatra (consolation tour) of Kadapa MP and former chief minister’s son YS Rajasekhara Reddy, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, had to be called off on Friday after Telangana agitators prevented him from stepping onto Telangana soil.
Amid high drama, Jagan was taken into preventive custody by police and was shifted to Hyderabad.
Trouble started early on Friday when Jagan was expected to arrive in Warangal, the hotbed of the Telangana movement. Jagan was to start his Odarpu Yatra from Mahabubabad, a major town in Warangal.
The tour is meant for consoling the families of those who had allegedly died either due to shock or committed suicide after YSR’s death in a helicopter crash in September 2009.
The Telangana protestors had warned Jagan against visiting Warangal as the movement for a separate state is at its peak.
However, an adamant Jagan decided to go to Warangal.
Several Congress leaders were waiting to receive Jagan at Mahabubabad station when protestors stopped the train in which Jagan was travelling at Vangapallli village. They resorted to heavy stone-pelting at the Congress leaders, who were in the waiting hall of the Mahabubabad railway station.
The waiting hall at the station was completely damaged. The gunmen with the Congress leaders came out of the waiting hall and fired about 10 rounds indiscriminately at the mob. Provoked by this, the agitators increased their attack, forcing the police to take away the Congress leaders to safety.
The news of firing has prompted the Telangana joint action committee to call for a shut down on Saturday. Osmania University students on Friday staged demonstrations on the main roads of Hyderabad protesting the firing.
Jagan, meanwhile, was taken into preventive custody at Vangapalli and shifted to Hyderabad. “I will continue my tour. No force can stop me,” Jagan asserted. He accused the K Chandrasekhara Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samiti of provoking people against him and his tour.
The Congress high command too had reportedly asked Jagan not to visit Telangana at this point. Friday’s protests have reportedly upset the party’s top leadership, which is likely to summon Jagan to Delhi for an explanation.
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