The arrest of former MLA Malladi Vishnu in connection with death of several people due to spurious liquor consumption at Swarna Bar owned by him has triggered clashes within the Congress party.
Even as senior Congress leaders including APCC chief N Raghuveera Reddy, K V P Ramachandra Rao and C Ramachandraiah visited the party headquarters to discuss the Vishnu arrest episode, a large number of party workers owing allegiance to Vishnu gheraoed them and demanded as to why the party was not condemning the arrest of Vishnu.
Another section of Congress workers who assembled there raised counter slogans and demanded that Vishnu be removed from the post of the city party unit president.
This led to clashes between both the groups. Vishnu supporters alleged that some of those who demanded the ouster of Vishnu from the post were, in fact, TDP supporters.
"Majority of those who were found demanding that Vishnu be removed as city Congress president are local TDP cadre and only to divert the attention and create confusion they came to the party office and enacted the drama," the Congress functionaries alleged.
Finally, the top leaders pacified both the groups and visited Vishnu in jail.
