Convoy Attacked, Kavuri Calls U-agitators Stupid
Express News Service, 18 December 2013, Eluru
Express News Service, 18 December 2013, Eluru
Till the other day he had been a staunch integrationist and hero in the eyes of those agitating in Seemandhra region opposing the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. But, Today, he seems to have become a ‘zero’ in their eyes when he let loose his ‘tongue’ in a fit of rage.
The downfall of Union minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao from being a hero to a zero in the eyes of those fighting for Samaikyandra was scripted at Chintalapudi town in West Godavari district on Tuesday.
He flew off the handle when Samaikyandra protagonists led by YSRCP leaders hurled eggs on his convoy, and called the agitators ‘stupid’ and ‘useless’.
The Union minister of textiles, who was in Chintalapudi to inaugurate a series of developmental programmes, faced the heat of protests at the very first programme he attended. Protesting the tabling of draft T-bill for discussion in the Assembly, Samikyandra protagonists led by YSR Congress leaders were staging dharnas and protest demonstrations in the town and a bandh-like situation prevailed at most places in the district.
When Rao arrived at Mohiudduin Kunta in the town to inaugurate a mini-bus stand amid tight security, the protesters, displaying placards reading ‘Go Back Kavuri’, shouted slogans against him and demanded his resignation.
They were stopped by the police which only angered them and raised their pitch and hurled eggs on the ministers’ convoy. Policemen, who were guarding Kavuri, were drenched in the egg yolk.
Angered at not only being obstructed but also being pelted with stones, Kavuri climbed the footboard of a jeep in the convoy and, holding a mike, called the mob ‘no good’ and ‘corrupt’. ‘’Do you think of yourselves as heroes? You, who will take the sides of the leaders who give you money, dare to criticise me and stop me. If you have guts, come forward,’’ he thundered.
The vehement reaction of the senior Congressman left everyone speechless and, after recovering from their shock, the protesters not only increased the pitch of sloganeering but also tried to rush towards his convoy, which resulted in some push-pull situation between the police and them. Police, expecting more trouble, escorted the minister away from there. YSRC leaders Maddala Rajesh Kumar and B Venkateswara Rao, who led the protest, were arrested by the police.
For quite some time now Kavuri has been facing backlash in his home constituency of Eluru and visiting Eluru and other parts of the constituency amid tight security. Even at his residence in Eluru, the security has been heightened with paramilitary personnel guarding it day and night. His critics say that he gave up his ‘integrationist’ ideals since his induction into the Union cabinet.
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