TDP panchayat leaders arrested in Tirupati

Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], November 29 : Amid the Sarpanch Samara Sankharava organised in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Tuesday accused the police of forcibly arresting its sarpanch union presidents.
The Andhra Pradesh panchayat raj chamber state president YVB Rajendra Prasad and Andhra Pradesh sarpanch sangam state president Vanapalli Lakshmi Mutyala Rao were intercepted from Tirupati's stairway to Tirumala and were arrested, party sources said, adding that they were taken to the Alipiri police station.
"Along with Prasad, Lakshmi Mutyala Rao, Singamshetty Subbaramaiah, Birru Pratap Reddy and other leaders were forcibly arrested by the police", a party member said.
According to party sources, the Sarpanch Samara Sankharava in Tirupati was organised for the development of villages and discussions on utilising funds to that end and also on the powers of sarpanches in the state.
"Further, the agenda was to bring village secretariats under sarpanches and finalise honorariums for sarpanches, Mandal and Zila Parishad members," a party member said, adding that during the meeting, panchayat raj chamber state president YVB Rajendra Prasad demanded that the state government provide electricity at free of cost to panchayats.
YVB Rajendra Prasad warned, "Until the state government accepts the 12 demands of our sarpanches, the movement will be intensified and agitations will be held".
Speaking on the arrest of their leaders, a party member stated, "This is only the beginning of our agitation program."