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Naidu declares war on political violence

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said his government would not tolerate political violence and would curb it with an iron hand.

Naidu held a high-level review meeting on the situation in the Rayalaseema region following the killing of seven Congress supporters by assailants allegedly belonging to the Telugu Desam Party in Upparapalli village of Cuddapah district on April 11.

He said he has instructed the police to handle all such incidents apolitically and to initiate measures to "maintain peace, tranquillity and harmony without fear or favour".

He also asked Director General of Police H J Dora to post efficient, upright and able officers in Rayalaseema to make the region violence-free.

Also, Naidu wants from the police an action plan to root out political violence in Rayalaseema. He said development and progress was not possible unless law and order was properly maintained.

He also asked the police to launch an awareness campaign among the people against such factionalism.

Following the killing of the Congressmen, Congress Legislature Party secretary P Indra Reddy had alleged that in the last six months since the TDP returned to power in the state, 98 Congressmen had been killed and 276 activists injured in attacks all over the state.

Besides, false cases were foisted on 1,776 Congressmen during the same period, he claimed.

Reddy said the police, TDP workers and anti-social elements were working hand-in-glove to terrorise Congressmen in Rayalaseema. Recently, 116 TDP men were given gun licences though all of them were involved in murder cases, he alleged.

There was also no check on the smuggling of illegal weapons and material for making crude bombs to Rayalaseema from Tamil Nadu, he said.

Meanwhile, Rayalaseema Inspector General of Police K S N Murthy is camping in Proddatur town to supervise the investigations into the killing of the seven. He said that 19 people have been identified and efforts were on to nab them.

Upparapalli has a history of political murders. Since 1955, 12 people have been killed for political reasons there.

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