As he prepared to travel to Punganur in the Chittoor district to meet with party workers, police on Sunday placed P. Midhun Reddy, the MP for the YSR Congress Party from Rajampet, under house arrest.
Midhun Reddy’s visit to the town was denied by the police due to concerns about a possible breach of peace.
The MP was welcomed at his home by a few police officers, who told him that the visit was not authorised.
To stop the YSRCP workers from congregating outside his home, a sizable police contingent was sent out.
Police have issued a warning, saying that anyone attempting to undermine law and order will face harsh consequences.
Former minister P. Ramachandra Reddy was recently barred by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) activists from entering Punganur, the seat of his Assembly constituency.
Political tension has been present in the Assembly segment since the poll results were released on June 4. For a fourth term in a row, Punganur voters chose Ramchandra Reddy.
Challa Ramachandra Reddy, a TDP candidate who lost against Ramchandra Reddy, defended the party workers’ actions by claiming the former minister had previously erected obstacles in the way of TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s entry into the Kuppam constituency.
The TDP cadres allegedly used violence against the YSRCP’s employees in the constituency.
Midhun Reddy claimed that when travelling to Punganur to see party workers who had been “subjected” to physical attacks, he was put under house arrest. He claimed that in Punganur, YSRCP workers’ homes had been destroyed.
Ramachandra Reddy filed an application with the Andhra Pradesh High Court last Thursday, asking for an order to prolong the 5+5 security that was granted to him during his tenure as minister.
In a plea, Midhun Reddy also requested that his 4+4 security be maintained. The State government was instructed by the High Court to provide a response to both petitions.
