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Jagan stone pelting case: TDP object to police naming its candidate
The TDP general secretary alleged that the Vijayawada police were scheming to implicate Uma Maheshwar Rao in the stone pelting case only to cover up their failure
The main opposition in Andhra Pradesh —Telugu Desam Party — on Wednesday expressed apprehensions over the attempts of Vijayawada police to “implicate” senior TDP leader and former MLA Bonda Uma Maheshwar Rao in the case pertaining to stone pelting at YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday night.
In a letter addressed to chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar, TDP general secretary and politburo member Varla Ramaiah alleged that the Vijayawada police, “under pressure from the ruling YSRCP, were planning to foist a case against Uma Maheshwara Rao”, who is contesting the next month’s elections to the state assembly from Vijayawada (central) constituency.
Ramaiah said that the TDP candidate was in “no way connected” to the stone pelting incident; yet, there were reports in the media about his possible arrest in connection with the case, before the issuance of election notification on Thursday, so as to prevent him from filing his nomination.
“In fact, family members of one of the suspects in the case who were picked up by the police for questioning told the reporters openly that he might have pelted the stone after being denied payment for attending the chief minister’s rally, as promised earlier,” he said.
The TDP general secretary alleged that the Vijayawada police were scheming to implicate Uma Maheshwar Rao in the stone pelting case only to cover up their failure in providing adequate security to the chief minister.
“This incident is an unprecedented abuse of power by police and negation of ECI assured ‘level playing field’ to all the political parties,” he said.
Ramaiah appealed to the Election Commission to intervene and direct the police not to foist false cases and resort to arrest of the TDP candidate just before the date of election notification.
Meanwhile, Uma Maheshwar Rao told reporters that the police had picked up a party activist Vemula Durga Rao from Vaddera Basti in the Ajit Singh Nagar, where the stone pelting at the chief minister had taken place. “The police are bringing pressure on Durga Rao to admit that I had masterminded the attack,” he alleged.
Stating that he was no way concerned with the incident, the TDP leader said he was ready to face a CBI inquiry into the incident, if ordered. “It is very clear that the YSRCP was trying to gain sympathy by enacting a high drama over the stone pelting incident,” he said.
The Vijayawada police, who were supposed to hold a press conference in the evening to produce the accused and disclose the investigation details, did not do so till late in the night.
