Telugu Desam Party chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu was arrested by the Maharashtra police for allegedly violating prohibitory orders in the Nanded district. Mr Naidu was arrested along with five TDP MPs and seven MLAs. Mr Naidu and his supporters were scheduled to visit Babhali barrage irrigation project in Nanded, which borders AP, for an “inspection”. The TDP has alleged that Maharashtra is building the barrage “illegally”.
The TDP legislators were later shifted to an Industrial Training Institute at Dharmabad on the AP-Maharashtra border. “The Maharashtra police deceived us. They promised to take us to the Babhali project site, but clandestinely brought us first to the Dharmabad police station,” said TDP senior MLA Erraballi Dayakar Rao, who was among the arrested partymen. Tension prevailed on the Maharashtra-AP border as news about Mr Naidu’s arrest spread. Angry TDP workers tried to march towards the Maharashtra side, but the police prevented them from doing so.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra politicians demanded that the state government should take a tough stand against Mr Naidu. Shiv Sena leader Diwakar Raote moved a motion of propriety against Mr Naidu in the Maharashtra legislative council. He alleged that the TDP leader is disturbing the situation in Maharashtra for political gains in his own state.
Mr Raote said, “Mr Naidu is doing this to strengthen his position in AP politics. Some people from Marathawada region, who are benefited from the project, have also gathered there to stop him. Therefore the state government should make its stand clear on the issue.” Legislators from the BJP, Congress and NCP also supported Mr Raote. Home minister R.R. Patil said that state has invoked section 144 of the CrPC by which the government can direct any person to abstain from an act that could cause nuisance in the state.
“Mr Naidu’s visit might destabilise the law and order situation in the area. It is not a huge dam. It has capacity of 2.74 thousand million cubic feet that would benefit 58 villages and bring 8,000-hectare land under irrigation. The AP government has moved the SC against the project and a hearing was also held on April 25, 2007. The SC has not stayed the work on the project, but only disallowed us from blocking water. We have complied with the court’s directive, and have not installed doors on the dam,” Mr Patil said.