ANANTAPUR: The police beefed up security at Kadiri and Puttaparthi in Sri Satya Sai district on Sunday in view of protests and ugly incidents during the ongoing review meetings held by the YSRC at constituency levels in the region. Both the meetings, forming the last phase in Anantapur and Sri Satya sai districts, however went off peacefully.
The YSRC high command took a serious note of an incident in which dissidents threw slippers on regional coordinator Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy’s convoy and forcibly sent back the main leaders arriving for a meeting at Penukonda on Saturday.
Ramachandra Reddy couldn't control the protesters as they blocked NH 44 at its entrance to the Penukonda town.
Prior to this, the dissidents had disrupted the Hindupur assembly segment review meet by accusing MLC and party incharge Md Iqbal of a role in the murder of former YSRC convener of Hindupur. Similarly, internal bickering among leaders and dissidence against the MLAs and incharges at Madakasira, Uravakonda and Rapthadu caused embarrassing situations for the YSRC regional coordinators.
In Madakasira, dissident leaders alleged that MLA M Thippeswamy used the police might to threaten the leaders against holding protests during the review meeting a couple of days ago.
In Penukonda, the party’s district unit president and former minister M Shankar Narayana faced embarrassing moments after party cadres of his own segment pressed a demand to take action against him and not to consider his name for party candidature in the next elections.
The Satya Sai district police sent in reinforcements following reports of similar protests in Puttaparthi and Kadiri towns. Police covered the roads enroute to the venues of the review meetings to prevent incidents.
Sources said the dissident leaders were strongly warned by the high command against resorting to such actions. They were advised, instead, to bring their complaints to the notice of the regional coordinator and other top leaders.
