YSR Congress activists, cops thrash students

WARANGAL: It may be paradoxical, but a Telangana MLA Konda Surekha and her husband K Murali on Monday thrashed Telangana agitators in support of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who displayed a placard in the Lok Sabha in support of United Andhra.‘Saagu Poru’, the statewide stir called by the YSR Congress witnessed some tense scenes here on Monday.Konda Murali, and his wife and former minister Konda Surekha attacked the students of Kakatiya University who opposed the dharna.Police used lathis on the students and shifted them to police stations. Protesting against the twin attacks, unidentified persons, supposed to be Telangana activists, set afire a jeep belonging to the YSR Congress party.In protest against the attack, KU student union leader K Vasudeva Reddy called for a bandh of all educational institutions in Warangal district on Tuesday.Trouble began when students of KU removed the tents put up by the YSR Congress men at the collector’s residence where there is a statue of former chief minister the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, stating that the party had no right to protest without making its stance on Telangana clear. Further, nearly 30 KU students obstructed the party’s dharna at the collector’s residence. When YSR Yuva Sena district president Sudhir Reddy tried to resist the students, they attacked him. In retaliation to the attack on Reddy, activists of the YSR Congress beat up the students. At this juncture, police intervened and caned the students.YSR Congress district unit president Kommuri Pratap Reddy, Konda Murali and Konda Surekha addressed the dharna at the collector’s residence. However, police disrupted the speeches of other leaders by taking away the mike stating that the party had no permission to stage the demonstration. By then prominent leaders of the party had addressed the gathering. Pratap Reddy and the Konda couple went to the collector’s office and submitted a memorandum.Meanwhile, Telangana activists set ablaze a jeep of the party parked at the district court in Subedari. Police prevented further damage by removing another vehicle parked near the jeep.