YS Sharmila, the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and YSRTP president, was arrested Monday (November 28) in Telangana’s Warangal district after a scuffle broke out between her supporters and ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) members. The incident took place in Lingagiri village under Warangal’s Chennaraopeta block, where Sharmila was on a padayatra (march) with her supporters.
In a viral video of her being arrested and taken away by the Telangana police, YS Sharmila angrily questioned the Telangana police, “Why are you arresting me? I am the victim here not the accused.”
Notably, Sharmila, who founded the YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP), has been on a ‘padyatra’ since last October. She has travelled 3,500 kilometres so far. Yesterday, she was in Narsampet where she criticised TRS MLA Peddi Sudarshan Reddy accusing him of extorting money from people, indulging in land grabbing and threatening contractors.
Her remarks apparently enraged members from Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s (KCR) party, who attacked and set fire to the van in which Ms Sharmila was travelling during her ‘padyatra.’ This apparently enraged her supporters, who got into a brawl with TRS party workers.
According to media reports, TRS activists attacked Sharmila’s convoy and set fire to a bus where she spent the night and rested during the day. Some YSRTP leaders’ vehicles were also vandalised. The YSRTP workers resisted the TRS workers’ attack, resulting in fights between the two factions.
According to Narasampet Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) RV Phaninder, some people attempted to set fire to Sharmila’s bus. “As the local police rushed to the spot, they fled the spot. We are on the lookout for them,” he said.
Sharmila was later arrested by police and taken to Hyderabad. Her party members organised a protest and barricaded the roadways, prompting police to use force to disperse them.
Sharmila questioned why the police arrested her rather than prosecuting those responsible for the vandalism. “We have permission for our padayatra. Why are the police stopping me?” she asked.
Telangana police say arrested Sharmila as it was not possible to provide security
The Telangana police reportedly told her that providing security to her would be difficult since activists from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had been mobilised everywhere and were attempting to chase her. So she was arrested and shifted towards Narsampet.
‘Democracy or a Taliban kingdom’: YS Sharmila hits out at ruling TRS party after her arrest
Following her arrest, Sharmila took to Twitter and questioned the move saying. “Is it a democracy or a Taliban kingdom?”
“The TRS government is plotting to arrest me who is fighting for the people. TRS is inciting goons by using the police as workers. Is this a democracy or Taliban?” she tweeted.