Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Jayadev Galla was sent to judicial remand till January 31 after he was arrested by the Guntur district police in Andhra Pradesh on Monday for protesting against the government’s decision to decentralise the state's capital.
The MP from Guntur was participating in the 'Chalo Assembly' protest, on a call by former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Jayadev had reached the gates of the Legislative Assembly during the special session held on Monday, when he was detained by the police and taken to the Rompicherla police station.
According to Thullur police, cases have been filed against the MP under sections 143 (member of an unlawful assembly). 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the IPC. Jayadev Galla has been sent to the Guntur sub-jail and will be under remand till January 31. He was reportedly produced in front of the Mangalagiri magistrate at around 3 am, here his bail plea was rejected.
Taking to Twitter, Galla Jayadev said, "My grandfather went to jail fighting the British regime. Today, I am being sent to jail for fighting this authoritarian and oppressive government. The fight for Amaravati will continue."
My grandfather went to jail fighting the #British #regime. Today I am being sent to #jail for fighting this authoritarian and oppressive Govt. The #fight for #Amaravati will continue. #JaiAmaravati!!#SaveAmaravati #SaveAmaravatiSaveAndhra #MyCapitalAmaravati pic.twitter.com/OtU3sevifr
— Jay Galla (@JayGalla) January 20, 2020
Reacting to the arrest, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu wrote on Twitter, "The police have behaved terribly towards Jayadev Galla, without any respect inspite of him being an MP. Is it a crime to stand by the farmers who had sacrificed their land to the state, when injustice is being done to them? ... We will stand by the people."
ఒక ఎంపీ అన్న గౌరవం కూడా లేకుండా తెదేపా నేత @JayGalla పట్ల పోలీసులు ప్రవర్తించిన తీరు దారుణం. రాష్ట్రం కోసం భూమిని త్యాగం చేసిన రైతులకు అన్యాయం జరుగుతుంటే మద్దతుగా నిలవడం తప్పా. మీలా నమ్మిన ప్రజలను మోసం చేసే చరిత్రహీనులం కాదు. ప్రజా జీవితంలో ఉన్నాం. ప్రజల కోసం నిలబడతాం.(1/2) pic.twitter.com/XkrOuOFKuJ
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) January 21, 2020
He also went on to allege that the police had treated Galla Jayadev harshly, demanding his release and action against the police officers who mistreated him. On Monday, TDP cadres and others took to the streets to demand that Amaravati be continued as the state's capital. The protesters, including women, removed police barricades to proceed towards the Assembly. The police resorted to a lathicharge to stop the protesters.
నాన్ బెయిలబుల్ కేసులు పెట్టేంత తప్పు జయదేవ్ ఏం చేసారు? ఆయనపై పెట్టిన అక్రమకేసుల్ని పోలీసులు వెనక్కి తీసుకోవాలి. ఎంపీ జయదేవ్ పట్ల అనుచితంగా ప్రవర్తించిన పోలీసులపై చర్యలు తీసుకోవాలి. జయదేవ్ ను వెంటనే విడుదలచేసి ప్రజాస్వామ్య విలువలను కాపాడాలని ఈ ప్రభుత్వాన్ని డిమాండ్ చేస్తున్నా(2/2) pic.twitter.com/Z58PiYxwFd
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) January 21, 2020
Several top TDP leaders were either taken into custody or placed under house arrest including Vijayawada MP Kesineni Nani and former ministers D Uma Maheshwar Rao and Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy.
Thousands of policemen were deployed in Amaravati, Vijayawada and surrounding towns to prevent protesters from heading towards the Assembly.
On Monday, condemning the police crackdown on TDP leaders and protesting farmers, Naidu alleged that the police had assaulted Jayadev.
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed two Bills on Monday night to decentralise the state's capital, thereby facilitating the shifting of key capital functions from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam and Kurnool.
Prior to this, 17 TDP MLAs were suspended from the Assembly as the chaotic debate over the three capitals went on for nearly 12 hours. The motion to suspend TDP members was moved on the suggestion of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was irked by repeated interruptions by the Opposition legislators during his reply to the debate.
The suspended MLAs staged a sit-in, raising slogans against the Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
Chandrababu Naidu and a few other legislators then tried to launch a protest march or ‘padayatra’ in the Amaravati region, following which they were taken into preventive custody by the police and released later.