As suspense continues on police permission for Lokesh padayatra, TDP sees conspiracy

The party had written to the state Director General of Police (DGP) KV Rajendranath Reddy for the first time on 9 January seeking permission for the yatra and also adequate security for the participants.

As there was no response to the letter, TDP general secretary and politburo member Varla Ramaiah wrote another letter to the DGP on Friday, 20 January, reminding him about the earlier letter and seeking permission.

On Saturday, TDP leaders received a communication from the DGP office, which sought details about the yatra in five different aspects.

The TDP objected to this, terming them as questions of imaginary nature, and also said the DGP’s office was harassing the Opposition leaders.

“Opposition leaders across the country are conducting roadshows, holding public meetings, or organising padayatras to reach out to the people. Nowhere were such questions of imaginary nature asked or raised. Never in the history of Indian politics were Opposition leaders harassed in the name of permission, even for conducting peaceful meetings, roadshows, and pada yatras,” said Varla Ramaiah in a reply letter to the DGP.

“It is informed that it is the duty of the police to provide adequate security and other necessary arrangements instead of preventing opposition political parties from conducting political activity in the name of permits,” he added.

Details of the padayatra

The permission for Lokesh’s padayatra had turned crucial and a sticky point in the wake of 11 deaths in two different stampedes in public meetings involving TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in the last one month, and the subsequent issuing of Government Order (GO) No 1 that prohibited roadshows and meetings on roads.

The DGP office sought details like the datewise schedule of the padayatra with respect to time and place in each district; a detailed route map through the districts; the number of people participating in the proposed padayatra with their details; the omposition of the entourage with details of the vehicle type, their numbers, and number plates; and others places of night halt, enumerated by district, along with the local contact number.

DGP’s letter to TDP seeking details about Nara Lokesh Pada Yatra (Supplied)

The Yuva Galam padayatra has been tentatively planned from Kuppam to Ichapuram, covering around 125 Assembly segments, 400 days, and 4,000 km.

“The schedule of the Yuva Galam padayatra with detailed route map, time and date in each district will be provided to the local Sub-Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs) ahead of the schedule for the police to make necessary arrangements, including security,” said Ramaiah.

“As the schedule of the padayatra may change due to other factors like climate and requests from the public, a detailed route map with time and date will only be prepared around four days ahead of the programme. This will be submitted to the local SDPOs,” he added.

The TDP said that some vehicles like the prachara ratham, two sound vehicles, four vehicles of Lokesh’s convoy, and one media vehicle, in addition to other vehicles of Yuva Galam participants, would be a part of the padayatra.

However, again the number of vehicles in the entourage would be based on the number of people turning out for the padayatra.

The datewise night-halt details with time and venue will be communicated to the local SDPOs in advance for making necessary adequate security arrangements for the public as well as the leaders.

Night halts are expected to consist of both movable and immovable arrangements, which in turn are highly dependent on the climatic conditions, said another TDP leader.

Contrast with the past

While the police are yet to provide permission to the padayatra, the Opposition party is seeing a conspiracy.

Letter written by the then leader of opposition YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s office to DGP informing about Praja Sankalpa yatra in 2017 (Supplied)

TDP leaders are also reminded of how YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy before launching his Praja Sankalpa yatra in 2017 had just informed the then DGP and the then TDP government to provide adequate security and other necessary arrangements.

It was on 1 November, 2017, that the office of the leader of the Opposition, Jagan, informed the DGP about the pada yatra.

“Under anarchic conditions prevailing across the state, people are looking for a platform to pour out their woes. Youth in the state do not see any future in the state, and they are directionless. At this juncture, Lokesh’s announcement of a padayatra sent chills down the spines of YSRCP leaders. That’s why they are indulging in a conspiracy to stop the padayatra by hook or by crook,” said former minister Kollu Raveendra.

It is also learnt that the TDP has also readied legal teams to approach relevant courts if the government stops the padayatra, like it did in the case of Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu.

“Using the GO No 1 as a reason, the government is trying to create trouble and hurdles for Lokesh’s padayatra. This only shows the desperation of the the YSRCP-led government to bury the anti-incumbency that is widely prevalent across the state, as it feels Lokesh’s padayatra will generate an unprecedented response,” said former minister and TDP senior leader KS Jawahar.

Lokesh tries to rally support

On his part, Lokesh has started asserting his position in the party, and also launched efforts to seek support from everyone in the TDP.

Recently, he held a video-conference meeting with the members of the TDP politburo — the decisionmaking body of the party — and also other senior leaders.

Seeking the support of all those who took part in the video conference for his padayatra, Lokesh promised to work hard to realise the dreams of the Late NT Rama Rao and take forward the vision of the TDP national president and his father N Chandrababu Naidu. All the senior leaders promised to extend their cooperation for the pada yatra.

In the meeting, Lokesh felt that even the YSRCP activists were strongly opposing the policies of the government and the anti-incumbency was growing by the day.

“This is the reason ministers and MLAs of the ruling party are also highly critical of Jagan Mohan Reddy,” he noted.

Maintaining that the TDP had already reached the common man with the “Badude Badudu” and “Idemi Kharma Mana Rashtraniki” programmes, he said.