The bandh call given by the YSR Congress party in protest against the arrest of their leader Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday evoked a mixed response in the State.
Barring a few stray incidents, the bandh passed off peacefully. Though the bandh was complete in YSR Kadapa district it received mixed response in coastal Andhra Pradesh while there was no response in the Telangana region. The State Road Transport Corporation operated buses as usual in the State capital while in some parts the YSR Congress leaders staged dharnas in front of bus stations in coastal Andhra and Kadapa district halting the operations.
The police clamped prohibitory orders in the city to prevent any untoward incident and arrested a few leaders of YSR Congress party as a precautionary measure. Government offices too functioned normally in the city and almost all the RTC busses are running as per schedule, police said.
Meanwhile, former ministers Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose and Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, who are contesting the by-elections as YSRC candidates, were briefly detained as they were leading protests in their areas. In Kurnool district the bandh received good response and RTC suspended its operations in 11 depots.
The police arrested YSR Congress candidate from Emmiganur constituency E Chennakesava Reddy, district unit president G Venkat reddy and former MLC S V Mohan reddy. In Allagadda constituency, the police house arrested Bhuma Nagireddy as a precautionary measure. In Chittoor district, the YSR Congress activists staged dharnas and rallies protesting against Jagan’s arrest. Shops and business establishments remained closed and buses were off the roads.
In Krishna and Guntur districts, the police arrested YSR Congress activists as they staged dharnas and rallies disrupting the traffic. In Khammam and Nalgonda districts the bandh was peaceful and the shops and businessmen voluntarily downed their shutters extending support to YSR Congress. In Nellore district, the police arrested 100 activists of YSR Congress when they took out a rally led by Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy.
Overall, the bandh was partial and peaceful, a senior police official said.
–Agencies