Mudragada to go ahead with fast

Mudragada to go ahead with fast:

•  B.V.S. BHASKAR
• The issue of reservation for the Kapu community is brewing into an uncomfortable issue for the government, which is hosting the International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam.
  The countdown for former minister and Kapu community leader Mudragada Padmanabham and his wife Padmavathi’s fast-unto-death began after efforts by TDP MLAs Thota Trimurthulu, Bonda Umamaheswara Rao and MLC Boddu Bhaskara Rama Rao to persuade him failed. The couple is likely to launch its protest at 9 a.m. on Friday.
  Mr. Padmanabham, emerging from a 90-minute-long meeting with the TDP legislators, made it clear that he would go ahead with his plans. “ I am not putting up any fresh demands and my main demand is not unreasonable,” he said. Hundreds of supporters, mostly youth from different parts of Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring States, met Mr. Padmanabham and his wife on Thursday.
  “Supporters from far-off places like Gooty, Uravakonda in Anantapur district and Palakonda in Srikakularm are joining him,” said Sai Chilakamarthi, a close associate of the Kapu leader.
  According to a senior police officer, the couple may be taken into custody after the fleet review at Visakhapatnam ends on February 7.
  Mr. Padmanabham had set a deadline for the State government to include his community in the Backward Classes list and release Rs. 1,900 crore immediately. He threatened to sit on a fast if the government failed to do so.
  Police took it as a challenge and deployed more than 5,000 special personnel in Prattipadu (of which Kirlampudi is a part), Jaggampeta and Tuni constituencies to ensure that no untoward incident took place.
  Of the five companies of special police, two have been deployed in Prattipadu and about 1,000 armed police were seen in riot gear.
  Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday asked the State BC Commission Chairman Justice K.L. Manjunath to submit the report on reservation for the Kapu community at the earliest. Mr. Manjunath met Mr. Naidu and said the report could be submitted within the stipulated time. The Congress demanded that Mr. Naidu call an all-party meet to resolve the issue.
  The party opined that statements made by the Chief Minister are only aggravating the problem and polarising communities in the State.