Tension prevailed at the residence of APCC President YS Sharmila in Vijayawada on Wednesday, when the placed her under house arrest. In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Amaravati on May 2, she announced that she would visit the area where the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone in 2015 in Uddandarayunipalem.
In this context, the alert police placed Sharmila under house arrest at her house in Vijayawada. Police were deployed at Sharmila’s house saying that she was not allowed to visit Uddandarayunipalem. The police prevented her from going to that area. The police set up barricades at Sharmila’s residence to prevent her from leaving her house.
The APCC chief expressed her deep anger over the police’s behavior. Sharmila made it clear that she will go to Uddandarayunipalem no matter what. In this context, there was a high tension at Sharmila’s residence. Speaking on the occasion, Sharmila deplored that a woman, that too the Congress state president, was subjected to police brutality. She demanded an answer from Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and the Home Minister Anitha.
She wanted to know why she was under house arrest? She said that a committee was being formed on behalf of the Congress and an action plan was being prepared for the capital. She asked why the government would obstruct it if a committee was formed to examine the situation there? She said that they had questions to ask and programs to be carried out on behalf of the Congress party.
“If the Amaravati Capital Committee is formed on the 28th, why are you so afraid? Should the government leaders tell us what they are looking to hide there? We have held a meeting at the party office for our action plan on Modi’s Amaravati visit. They are stopping me when I am going there”, she said.
Further, she announced that tomorrow there will be a Congress action plan on Modi’s visit. “Shouldn’t we talk about public issues in our AP? Will we be stopped and arrested only if we hold meetings? Is this the stance of your alliance or have you deployed a large number of police in police vans? Will there be a law and order problem because of me”, she added.
Stating that she was kept under arrest soon after a committee was formed, Sharmila expressed fears that if they protested they may probably kill them. Asking the police that they should also work legally, she wondered that “they also laid hands on me. Is this the right policy? We have the right to fight in public. The police should focus on protecting women. Do you want me to stop and not come out?”
Sharmila warned that they will not sit idly and watch the government and police trample on their rights. She made it clear that their struggles cannot be stopped or hindered by arrests.
Sharmila also took to Twitter to express her anger. “Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister… Why have you kept me under house arrest in my villa in Vijayawada? For what reason? Please answer the people of AP. I have the right to go anywhere. Is it a crime to go to the PCC office as the APCC president? Why are you trying to trample on our constitutional rights? What is your government afraid of?”, Sharmila asked questions on social media.