Warangal, May 28: With the stage set for the launch of Kadapa MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s ‘Odarpu Yatra’ from Mahabubabad in Warangal district, a warlike situation prevailed in the town with the Telangana Joint Action Committees (JACs) all geared up to obstruct the tour. Adding to police jitters, a bomb scare involving a bag of potatoes placed at the Mahabubabad bus stand further jangled their nerves.
The situation was charged in the whole of Warangal district, particularly Mahabubabad. ”He will be welcomed with eggs and rotten tomatoes,” said one student JAC leader. Thousands of students, a majority of them from Kakatiya and Osmania universities and some from other universities in Telangana, have reportedly streamed into villages around Mahabubabad. Advocates and leaders of the Telangana JAC are also heading there. TRS former legislators T Harish Rao, E Rajender, D Vinay Bhaskar and TJAC convenor Prof. Kodandaram reached Mahabubabad in the night.
Sources said separatist students have been camping in villages for the past few days. ”We are telling people to dig up the roads leading to Mahabubabad, or cut down trees to block Jagan’s convoy. We are also asking each family to send at least one youngster with an egg, a rotten tomato and a stone,” Osmania University (OU) JAC leader P Kailash Neta said.
Sources said hundreds of OU students boarded trains to Warangal and Kazipet in the last few days. They were joined by students of Kakatiya University at Kazipet. The Golconda Express bound for Guntur from Secunderabad was brought to a halt by students near Mahabubabad and hundreds of them entered the town this evening.
”Students are secretly reaching Mahabubabad by various means as police are likely to make preventive arrests,” Kakatiya University JAC leader K Vasudev Reddy said.
Sources said every family in the neighbouring villages has been asked to feed at least 10 Telangana activists.
In the town itself, Telangana activists garlanded Jagan’s posters with slippers and advocates took out a massive rally. A near confrontational situation prevailed as hundreds of Congress activists too gathered in town.
Senior police officials said they were apprehensive that the situation might go out of hand. ”The tour will undoubtedly create a law and order problem,” said an officer speaking on condition of anonymity. Superintendent of Police Shahnawaz Khasim told Express that no permission was sought by Jagan to tour the district.
—Agencies