Date:20/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/20/stories/2008112054450500.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Guntur

PRP leaders resort to Gandhigiri

Special Correspondent

They take out rally protesting against attack on party workers at Pulivendula

Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar

Saying it with flowers: Praja Rajyam Party leaders and workers distributing flowers to people at Sankar Vilas Centre in Guntur on Wednesday. —

GUNTUR: Praja Rajyam Party on Wednesday resorted to Gandhigiri by offering roses to men and women at the Sankar Vilas Centre here as a gesture of protest against the alleged attack on their party workers in Pulivendula on Tuesday.

The party key leaders and workers took out a massive rally from their Arundelpet district office and blockedtraffic at the Sankar Vilas Centre for about half an hour raising slogans and displaying placards protesting the attack.

PRP leader Yelamanchili Sivaji said Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy must ensure there was no violence in the democratic political set up at least in his own constituency, while leaders of other parties carried out campaign in the coming elections. Everyone in the democratic country had the right to express his or her political view freely, he pointed out.

After World War-II more than 100 countries adopted their own constituencies and types of Governments with violence dominating during transfer of power from Italy to Egypt, but transfer of power had been bloodless in India during the past 62 years, which `unfortunately’ was not the scenario today, Dr. Sivaji said.

Washing the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Lalapet near GMC office symbolically, he said Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and some of the northern states had got used to bloodshed during the elections, but rest of the country was still peaceful, which should be maintianed.