(Image source from: Twitter.com/realyssharmila)
YS Sharmila arrested while ‘Chalo Secretariat’ Protest:- YS Sharmila, the president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, was arrested on Thursday by Vijayawada Police for attempting to lead a protest march to the Secretariat. The march did not have permission, leading to the arrest of Sharmila, APCC chief G Rudraraju, and other Congress leaders and party workers for not obeying police orders. During her arrest, Sharmila sustained minor injuries on her hands as women constables forcefully took her into a police vehicle. Sharmila had initiated the 'Chalo Secretariat' protest march earlier that day in Vijayawada to show support for unemployed youth in the state. However, she and her companions were stopped by the police on Eluru Road. They engaged in a standoff for almost two hours before Sharmila and the others were taken into custody.
జగన్ పార్టీ ప్రత్యేక రాజ్యాంగంలో ప్రజాస్వామ్యం ఖూనీ అయ్యింది. మీరు పూర్తి చేయని హామీలను ప్రశ్నిస్తే అరెస్ట్ చేసి నిర్బంధిస్తారా? కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీ అధ్యక్షురాలిగా నాకే ఈ పరిస్థితి ఉంటే ఇక సామాన్యుడి పరిస్థితి ఏంటి? ప్రజాస్వామ్య దేశంలో ఉన్నామా? లేక రాచరికపు పాలన లో ఉన్నామా?మెగా… pic.twitter.com/61LVRvN1Yw
— YS Sharmila (@realyssharmila) February 22, 2024
Expressing her frustration, Sharmila stated, "The Chief Minister and his government perceive me as a threat, even though I simply want to go to the Secretariat and present a representation regarding the increasing unemployment among the youth. It is highly deplorable how this government treats a female political leader. I am the daughter of Dr Y S Rajashekara Reddy, and I refuse to be intimidated. I will persist in my fight." She made these remarks while outside the Mangalagiri Police Station, where she was brought.
APCC President Smt. @realyssharmila garu addressed the press at the party headquarters where the police restricted Congress leaders and karyakartas from undertaking the 'Chalo Secretariat' protest march.
— INC Andhra Pradesh (@INC_Andhra) February 22, 2024
According to a study over 21,000 died by suicide due to unemployment.… pic.twitter.com/88ofBPOXaK
Sharmila, the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and S Rajashekar Reddy, was appointed as APCC president on January 16. She has been criticizing the ruling YSRCP government and CM Reddy, claiming that the state is facing increasing unemployment, financial difficulties, and a lack of law and order under their rule. Although she had announced a protest march on Wednesday morning, the police refused permission and began placing Congress leaders under house arrest.
To avoid being confined to her home, she decided to spend Wednesday night at the Congress head office, Andhra Ratna Bhavan. A video that has since gone viral shows Sharmila, the Congress leader, sleeping on a mattress on the floor of the party's Vijayawada office. Another video shared by party leader Manickam Tagore depicts other Congress workers and leaders also sleeping at the Congress office. Rather than going to Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao's house on Wednesday evening, where the police allegedly intended to detain her, she chose to remain at the Congress office. As the police surrounded the Congress office on Thursday morning, Sharmila, along with several Congress leaders and supporters, staged a sit-in protest and chanted slogans.
Standing up against Jagan's arrogance and standing for democracy: Joining @YS_Sharmila and countless others in condemning the unjust behavior of Jagan's police for the suppression of democratic rights against advocates for the unemployed. It's time to uphold the fundamental 1/2 https://t.co/4vqxOm3KaW
— Manickam Tagore .B??மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) February 21, 2024
