On the evening of the 27th of February, Chandrababu Naidu, the President of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was detained by the Andhra Pradesh (A.P.,) Police, in Visakhapatnam.
The police detained Mr. Naidu regarding his security, as the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders and activists were protesting against his visit. Mr. Naidu was on a two day visit to Visakhapatnam and was scheduled to meet with dalits and people of Pendurthi mandal to express solidarity with the people who lost their lands in the land pooling scheme. Mr. Naidu reached Visakhapatnam airport for his scheduled two day visit and to continue the Praja Chaitanya Yatra, which started on the 24th of February. Soon after he reached the airport, many YSRCP activists and workers gathered outside and staged a protest. The activists threw eggs, tomatoes and shoes at Chandrababu Naidu’s convoy, shouting slogans and telling him to go back.
The Police detained Mr. Naidu at the Visakhapatnam Airport and took him to a VIP lounge. Angry over the action of police, Mr. Naidu said, “How can the police allow thousands of YSRCP workers to come to the airport and create a tense atmosphere? When I was in power, did I or my party workers stop Jagan from undertaking ‘Padayatra’? These people are disturbing the peaceful atmosphere in Vizag (Visakhapatnam.) Let the police do whatever they can – they can fire at me or even kill me in an encounter.”
The Police justified the arrest citing Chandrababu Naidu’s security and issued an arrest notice for the same under Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC.) According to Section 151 of the CrPC, a police officer can arrest a person without any magistrate or warrant to prevent any commission of a cognizable offence.
On the other hand, criticising the State Government and Police for the arrest, Chandrababu Naidu and the TDP is planning to move the A.P., High Court, against the arrest.
According to sources, Chandrababu Naidu boarded a flight to Hyderabad around 7:00 P.M., on the 27th of February.
