The removal of late chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy’s statue in the heart of Vijayawada as part of road expansion on Friday night has kicked up strong protests from the local people, but Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has strongly defended the move.
YSRCP activists staged a dharna protesting against the removal of YSR statue on Saturday. The YSRCP workers, led by East Constituency incharge Bhava Kumar, stalled the traffic and the police arrested them and shifted them to Patamata police station. YSRCP leader Vangaveeti Radha called on the arrested party activists at the police station.
Naidu, however, defended the removal of statue saying the government had decided long ago not allow any statues in the middle of the road.
“A leader should be in the hearts of the people and not on the roads. If they have so much love towards YSR, let them install the statue in front of their houses and not in public places,” he said.
