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Andhra Pradesh : TDP leader shot dead, CM’s son one of the accused |
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In Andhra Pradesh unidentified assailants shot dead TDP leader and former Minister Paritala Ravindra leading to widespread violence in the state. Congress party offices, government offices and State Corporation buses were targeted by TDP workers protesting against the murder.
Ravindra alias Ravi had been a marked man and a dreaded leader of the violent politics of Rayalaseema where the TDP and the Congress fight for supremacy through their local satraps. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, too, comes from the same region’s Cuddapah district. TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu has demanded the dismissal of the state government.
The police had booked a case against Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Rajasekhar Reddy, and State Minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy for allegedly conspiring and carrying out the murder of Telugu Desam legislator Paritala Ravindra. The case was booked on a first information report filed by Kondanna, father-in-law of Paritala. The state government decided to hand over the case to the CBI. The decision, announced by the Chief Minister after a Cabinet meeting, was seen as a move to head off criticism by the TDP over the possible involvement of his son Jagan.
Government keen on talks with Naxalites
The Prime Minister and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have expressed the view that the peace talks between the Andhra Pradesh government and Naxalite groups should continue unhindered. Stating this at a Press meet at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, party general-secretary Digvijay Singh said the Congress has asked the state government to conduct a probe into the encounters between the Naxalites and the security forces and establish whether they were genuine or fake.
On his part, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy asserted that talks with Naxalite groups will continue. Talking to newspersons in New Delhi after meeting the Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister Shivraj Patil the Chief Minister said the State government had asked the police not to carry out combing operations. It may be recalled that 18 people had been killed including 12 extremists in encounters earlier this month. But the Chief Minister said a conducive situation for talks would be one where only the government machinery carried weapons and none else.
On their part, the Naxalites have said that they would be in a position to return to the negotiating table only if the state government restores the peaceful atmosphere that prevailed before the first round of talks in October last year. Their demands include suspension of the Superintendents of Police of Karim Nagar, Warangal, Mehboob Nagar, Prakasam and Anantapur districts where 15 Naxalites were killed in police encounters. They also want cases of murder to be registered against the policemen involved.
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