Cops foil Jagan's bid to join protest, send him back to Hyd

After a high drama that lasted over two hours inside the Visakhapatnam airport, police sent YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy back to Hyderabad this evening, thereby preventing him from taking part in a candlelight protest on the beach here.
In heated arguments with the police, who detained him and other leaders, Jagan strongly protested the "denial of my democratic and political rights" and vowed to act against the police "when I become Chief Minister".
Jagan, two YSRC MPs Y Vijaysai Reddy, Y V Subba Reddy and three other leaders were detained upon their arrival from Hyderabad in the evening.
"In just two more years, I will be the CM. I will not forget anyone of you. I will take you all to task," Jagan warned some police officers and men as the latter prevented him and MPs from coming out of the airport.

Jagan and other YSRC leaders staged a sit-in protest on the airport apron after a horde of policemen did not allow them to come out of the arrivals gate at the airport.
"We demand special category status. We demand justice", the YSRC leaders raised slogans.

"I am the Leader of Opposition and these two are MPs. How can you bar us from going out of the airport? This is the arrivals gate and we came here as passengers. How could you stop us," the YSRC chief questioned.
As several policemen in plain clothes surrounded them, Jagan demanded they show their identity cards.

"How do we know you are police? How can you enter inside the airport which is under Central government control," he asked the city police.
After a lengthy argument, in which a Rajya Sabha member Vijaysai Reddy was seen pushing a plainclothes policeman away, the YSRC leaders were allowed into the VIP lounge.
City police Commissioner T Yoganand rushed to the airport and reportedly apologised to the Leader of Opposition and the MPs over the behaviour of his subordinate staff.
Yoganand, however, made it clear that they would not be allowed to enter the city for the candlelight protest and asked them to return to Hyderabad.

Finally, Jagan and others were made to board the 6.10 PM flight to Hyderabad.
Jagan and the YSRC leaders arrived here by a scheduled flight this evening to take part in the candle light protest on the Vizag beach demanding grant of special category status to Andhra Pradesh.