AP: Congress chief YS Sharmila spends night at party office to avoid 'house arrest'
YS Sharmila claimed that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government was trying to put her under house arrest because she was to lead Congress workers on the party's ‘Chalo Secretariat’ protest
High political drama was witnessed in Andhra Pradesh with two siblings clashing against each other.
The new Andhra Pradesh Congress chief YS Sharmila Reddy, who is the sister of YSRCP leader and chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, disclosed that she had to take the trouble of spending the night at the Congress office on Wednesday (February 21) night, to allegedly avoid being put on 'house arrest' by the government.
Sharmila, who joined the Congress on January 4 and was quickly elevated to the status of the party chief, claimed that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government was trying to put her under house arrest because she was to lead Congress workers on a ‘Chalo Secretariat’ protest.
The Congress called for the protest to throw light on the problems being faced by unemployed youth and students. According to Sharmila, Jagan Mohan Reddy had completely failed to tackle the concerns of the youth. She told reporters at Andhra Ratna Bhavan in Vijayawada, a day earlier on Wednesday that in the last five years Jagan Mohan Reddy had not addressing key issues faced by the youth such as unemployment.
She later took to microblogging platform X to slam the government for trying to stop the Congress protest. Saying that in a democracy anyone is allowed to protest, she expressed her frustration at having to evade the police and spend the night at the Congress office.
The state government was trying to supress their movement and hide their incompetence, she stressed.
Right to protest
Sharmila also questioned the government’s attempts to put her on house arrest for calling for a protest on behalf of the unemployed,
“Don't we have the right to protest in a democracy?,” she asked, and pointed out that it was "shameful" that as a woman she wass being forced to evade the police and spend the night in the Congress Party office to avoid house arrest.
On Thursday, she claimed in a social media post that thousands of policemen had surrounded her. Sharmila said that iron fences were also put up and they were being held hostage. “If we stand on the side of the unemployed, they are arresting us. You are dictators who are trying to stop us. Your actions are proof of this. YCP Sarkar should apologise to the unemployed," she added.
Meanwhile, a large police contingent has been posted at the Andhra Pradesh Congress committee headquarters in Vijayawada in lieu of the Congress' call to march to the Secretariat.
Congress' in charge of Andhra Pradesh and Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore too criticised Jagan’s "arrogance" and "unjust behaviour". And condemned Jagan’s attempt to suppress democractic rights of people fighting for the unemployed.
