Andhra Pradesh

Left parties’ bid to storm Collectorate foiled

ANANTAPUR: As has been the practice for the district police in the recent months, they foiled the bid of Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) to lay siege to the Collectorate here on Thursday even before the activists and leaders of the two parties reached the protest site. They planned the protest in support of their State and district leaders’ indefinite fast for houses, house sites and land for agriculture to the poor.

The police resorted to lathi-charge on the activists of the Left parties including women when the latter tried to break through the police barrier in front of the AIR station near the Collectorate. About 60 activists of the two parties suffered injuries, a dozen of them seriously, in the severe caning and kicking by the police. By dispersing the activists with caning the police lifted the activists into the waiting vans and arrested about 300 of them. The 12 leaders of the two parties who were on the indefinite fast for the last four days criticised the arrests of their activists and neglect of the problem of the poor.

KADAPA: Picketing of Kadapa Collectorate by CPI, CPI (M) and TDP functionaries took a violent turn with police personnel caning protesters who stormed into the premises.

Armed Reserve DSP K. Sekhar, Home Guards Platoon Commander Chinna Reddaiah and about half a dozen constables and several Leftist activists suffered injuries when they grappled with each other.

About four Left party members fainted during the two-and-half-hour protest. CPI district secretary G. Obulesu alleged that the poor have no faith that the Government would construct 60 lakh houses for poor in the State. Demanding implementation of Koneru Ranga Rao Committee report, he demanded distribution of two acres of land per poor family as the Government announced that 70 lakh acres of surplus land was available in the State.

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