Andhra Oppn demands probe into police firing

Andhra Oppn demands probe into police firing
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Hyderabad, Aug 29: The entire Opposition today demanded a judicial inquiry into Monday's police firing, during the `chalo assembly' programme that left three persons dead, even as the Andhra Pradesh Government sought to justify the police action amidst uproarious scenes in the state assembly.

Intervening umpteen times during the special debate on the incident, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, however sought to justify the police action saying the government would not remain a silent spectator if the Opposition resorted to `damaging' public properties and `political violence to gain mileage'.

The inconclusive debate, which resumes tomorrow, was marred frequently by acrimonious exchanges between Opposition members and treasury benches even as Naidu and leader of Opposition Y S Rajasekhar Reddy had a wordy duel over the firing and alleged `violence perpetrated by the Opposition'.

Reddy, who demanded a judicial inquiry into the police firing, was supported by MIM and CPI-M.

The BJP, a friendly ally of ruling TDP, also criticised the government for its failure to tackle the nearly 3-month-long agitation against hike in power tariff, which culminated into `chalo assembly' on a tragic note, but it (BJP) stopped short of pressing for a judicial probe.

Naidu, however did not appear to give in and reiterated the charge that the Congress and Left parties, in collusion with extremists, tried to foment violence and destruction.

Attacking the government for the police firing near Basheerbagh in the city, the MIM floor Leader A Owaisi said `things would not have come to such a sorry pass' had the government been a little flexible on its stand on the ongoing Opposition agitation against power tariff hike.

He accused Naidu of `sticking to his ego and prestige' instead of finding a solution to the present imbroglio.

The government could have availed of the opportunities and resolved to end the stalemate over power tariff issue instead of waiting for the gory end that resulted in the death of three persons in police firing and caused injuries to scores of policemen and opposition activists, he said.

Pointing to other members of his party, Owaisi in a choked voice dared the government to `kill them (MIM MLAs) in a bid to quench their political thirst instead of the innocents'.

`Even the women were not spared on Monday by the police', he alleged and said the `intensity of the ongoing agitation was a manifestion of the growing public resentment against hike in power tariff'. He demanded a judicial inquiry into the police firing by a sitting high court judge and compensation of Rs five lakh to the kin of deceased.

The CPI-M MLA N Narsihmaiah, who had participated in the recent indefinite fast, also castigated the government for yesterday police firing and it was `fascist and outrageous'.

Meanwhile, the Opposition has called for a statewide bandh to protest the firing, that had also left 180 persons injured.

In the assembly, wearing a red shirt and a black badge around his arm as a symbolic protest against hike in power tariff, Narsimhaiah alleged that the police brutalities were reminiscent of Jallianwala Bagh.

He accused the Chief Minister of `trying to make an issue by making allegations that they (opposition) had colluded with extremist elements and engineered violence and mayhem in the city'.