The removal of NTR and Paritala Ravi’s statues in Vinukonda has become a fresh reason for dispute between YSRCP and TDP cadres. YSRCP leaders have succeeded in removing the statues of NTR and Paritala Ravi on the embankment of Nagarjuna Sagar canal in Vishnukundi Nagar in Vinukonda, Guntut dist. TDP district president GV Anjaneyulu who hails from Vinukonda has taken serious note of this incident and led several protests with TDP sympathisers against the removal. Local residents have revealed that GV Anjaneyulu has been vehemently opposing the plans of YSRCP leaders to remove the statues since many days and had even approached the courts. On Saturday night, police put him under house arrest and carried out the demolition work.
Most of the roads in Vinukonda are narrow and there are as many as 40 statues in various junctions. Recently a statue of ‘Ranga’ was erected on his death anniversary at a busy junction. The statues of NTR and Paritala Ravi are away from the hustle and bustle of the town. Local residents are perplexed about the reasons that led to their removal. Officials said that they are following High Court’s judgment to remove statues that act as bottlenecks for traffic. TDP cadre in Vinukonda tried hard to stop the removal since the last fifteen days, but have failed. A constable was heard saying that the orders have come from the ‘top’, and hence, Municipal Commissioner of Vinukonda resorted to using police force to remove the statues.
Officials foresaw that the protests could lead to violence, hence, deployed 400 members from APSP Battalion. The police took over the entire town and made sure no one moved in groups or as a procession. ‘We deployed police force in large numbers to avoid any unfortunate incidents’, said Vinukonda DSP Veera Reddy to the media.
NTR statue lies in the heart of Vinukonda. TDP leaders use it as a starting point for all their programmes. There are a large number of sympathizers for TDP in the constituency. It is said that the YSRCP MLA Bolla Brahma Naidu played a big role to get the statues removed. Vinukonda Municipal Commissioner is said to have fully cooperated with the ruling party MLA. Recently an NTR statue was moved in Kavali for no reason which led to disturbances. TDP cadre is angry about these incidents and worry that this trend might continue.