BJP, TDP activists come to blows

Activists of the BJP and the TDP came to blows during the protest demonstration staged at the Gandhibomma Centre on the Trunk Road here on Saturday.

Mild tension prevailed as the BJP activists arrived in a rally and burnt an effigy of TDP Hindupur MLA and actor N. Balakrishna in protest against his “disparaging remarks” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s ‘Dharma Porata Deeksha’ in Vijayawada on Friday.

The TDP activists entered into heated argument with those of the BJP, as the latter began burning the effigy. Activists of both the groups pushed and shoved each other, and later resorted to mutual physical attack.

The police arrived and dispersed the groups.

Differences between both the parties escalated ever since they parted ways at the national and State levels.

TDP rout certain: Veerraju

Special Correspondent in Rajamahendravaram writes:

Lashing out at Mr. Naidu and Mr. Balakrishna for their remarks against Mr. Modi, BJP MLC Somu Veerraju told the media here that the TDP would pay a heavy price for it. We would lodge a police complaint against Mr. Balakrishna and make Mr. Naidu a witness, he said.

Predicting a repeat of the 2004 results in the 2019 elections, he said the TDP was sure to fall from grace. Besides failing to restrain Mr. Balakrishna, the Chief Minister too made derogatory comments against Mr. Modi, he alleged.

Alleging large-scale irregularities in the utilisation of Swachh Bharat funds, Mr. Veerraju termed Real Time Governance a bogus and the Chief Minister’s dashboard a “trash board.”

‘Unfit to be MLA’

Staff Reporter in Tirupati writes:

BJP leaders led by their State official spokesperson G. Bhanu Prakash Reddy lodged a complaint against Mr. Balakrishna with the Tirupati Urban Police.

Addressing the media later, Mr. Reddy said Mr. Balakrishna was unfit to be a legislator. The language used by Mr. Balakrishna tantamount to “inciting people to indulge in violence against a person, or a party, or a group of persons,” he said, and urged the police to register a case and initiate criminal proceedings against the actor.

Demanding an unconditional apology from Mr. Balakrishna, the BJP threatened to approach court if no police action was taken against him.

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