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YSRCP workers defy police restrictions as Jagan visits Chittoor
Tension rose in Bangarupalem as thousands of YSR Congress workers clashed with police during Jagan's visit to aid distressed mango farmers.
A tense atmosphere prevailed at Bangarupalem town in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district on Wednesday, as police allege that thousands of YSR Congress Party workers barged into the local market yard where party president and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy arrived to interact with distressed mango farmers.
The Chittoor police imposed stringent restrictions on crowd mobilisation for Jagan’s visit to the Bangarupalem market yard, keeping in view the previous incidents of alleged lawlessness during his previous visits to the chilli market yard in Guntur on February 20, Papireddypalli village of Sri Satya Sai district on April 8, Podili market yard in Prakasam district on June 11, and Rentapala village in Palnadu district on June 18.
Chittoor superintendent of police VN Manikanta Chandolu said on Tuesday night that permission was granted for only 500 people to enter the mango market yard, and only 30 people at the helipad to prevent any kind of security breach during Jagan’s visit.
However, the YSRCP mobilised around 25,000 people to Jagan’s roadshow from the helipad to the market yard. “At the helipad, though two layers of barricades were set up, hundreds of party workers surged toward the chopper,” a police official supervising the security arrangements said.
The YSRCP said in a statement that the police imposed unreasonable restrictions on farmers and party leaders trying to reach the venue. The police in multiple mandals around Bangarupalem stopped vehicles, conducted inspections, and even recorded videos of farmers attempting to attend the interaction.
“Several farmers and YSRCP leaders, including former MLA Venkatesh Goud, were detained and stopped from proceeding further,” the statement said.
After interacting with the farmers in the afternoon, Jagan demanded that the Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government buy the entire mango produce from the farmers at ₹12 per kg. “There are over 76,000 farmers who cultivated mango in an extent of over 2.20 lakh acres and the yield was 6.45 lakh tons and they are in distress as they are not getting minimum support price,” he said.
He recalled that the mango farmers got ₹29 per kg during his regime and the Rythu Bharosa Kendras had monitored the crop throughout. “In just one year, the mango prices dipped. Normally mango procurement should take place in early May but why was it not taken up this time,” he said.
He also found fault with the police for allegedly harassing the farmers, arresting them and detaining over 1,200 farmers speaks of the insensitiveness of the government. “Under the coalition government, farmers are not getting MSP for mirchi, tobacco, mangoes, millets or any crop and farmers are not getting the incentives due to them,” he said.
Earlier, Jagan was stopped by police officials near Bangarupalem when he tried to step out of his convoy to meet an injured party worker. According to the party statement, the police had manhandled the YSRCP workers who were trying to get into the market yard and one of the workers received bleeding injuries on the head.
“When Jagan wished to personally meet and console the worker, the SP intervened and prevented him from stepping out of the convoy. Jagan was eventually made to re-enter the convoy and continue his route,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, TDP spokesperson and Andhra Pradesh Biodiversity Board chairman Neelayapalem Vijayakumar described Jagan’s visit to the Bangarupalem mango yard as a political stunt, as the mango season had already come to an end.
The TDP leader said Jagan should have visited scores of fruit pulp processing units owned by the YSRCP leaders in Chittoor district, and demand justice for the farmers.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, he asked what the YSRCP did during its tenure when the mango price crashed between 2021 and 2023.
He alleged that the YSRCP had done nothing when the mango price crashed between 2021 and 2023. “The present government is paying a subsidy of ₹4 per kg of Totapuri mango now, but the previous YSRCP regime did not even pay ₹1 during a similar crisis two years back,” he said.
