Andhra Pradesh

Rift in Congress groups to the fore

VIZIANAGARAM: As a sequel to the ugly incidents late on Monday evening between groups led by Congress MLA K. Ravi Babu and district Youth Congress president I. Raghu Raju over display of a cut-out welcoming devotees participating in Dara Gangamma jaatara at Devi Bomma junction in S.Kota, mandal headquarters village, supporters of Mr. Raghu Raju on Tuesday took out a rally from mandal office via main road to the police station and staged a dharna demanding that the police register a case under SC/ST Atrocities (Protection) Act against supporters of MLA’s group.

Later, they organized rasta roko on Visakhapatnam-Araku Road for over 30 minutes. As a result, vehicular traffic came to a halt. They called off their protest after K. Kotesewara Rao, Vizianagaram DSP, rushed to the spot and pacified them saying he would register cases after an inquiry into the incidents in the next two days.

With Monday night’s incident, the rift between the two leaders in S.Kota Assembly constituency is to the fore. According to party sources, mandal parishad president Onti Appa Rao who tried in vain to pacify the warring groups got injured in the melee and was admitted to Government Community Hospital for treatment.

Mr. Raghu Raju’s group now says that the MLA’s men attacked the ‘dalit’ voluntarily and hence a case must be registered against them under Atrocities Act.

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