A tense atmosphere prevailed at Vizianagaram’s famous Ramatheertham temple. On Thursday, as the BJP and JanaSena had called for a dharma yatra, a heavy police presence had been deployed in a bid to curb untoward incidents. However, BJP AP Chief Somu Veerraju, General Secretary Vishnuvardhan Reddy and party workers were stopped by the police from visiting the shrine. In this situation, a war of words broke out between the police and BJP party workers causing a stampede, which led to a scuffle. The BJP AP Chief and General Secretary Vishnuvardhan Reddy faced severe exhaustion. Now, with the BJP General Secretary’s having fallen sick he was rushed to the nearest hospital.
Leaders need to co-operate
The Vizag range DIG Kalidas IPS requested the public and political leaders to co-operate in these circumstances and even appealed the political leaders to maintain the religious harmony and refrain from making inflammatory speeches that could cause law and order issues. The IPS officer also added that the visit of political leaders causes a hindrance to the ongoing investigation in the Ramatheertham incident. He added that political parties are trying to create unrest among the public by raising issues related to religion which is linked to public sentiment.