Kapu quota stir leader under house arrest ahead of march

The Andhra Pradesh police today put Kapu community leader Mudragada Padmanabham under house arrest ahead of his proposed march to the state capital to seek reservation in state jobs and educational institutions for his community.
Padmanabham was put under house arrest at his Kirlampudi village in East Godavari district. He had had planned to launch his 'pad yatra' from Kirlampudi today, demanding that the TDP government honour its promise of providing reservation for the Kapu community in education and jobs.
The police said Padmnabaham was restrained from setting out on the campaign as there was a likelihood of violence had it been allowed.

Padmnabham had not sought permission either for the yatra, they said.
"If you look at history, there had been violence during such agitations and hence we cannot permit it," East Godavari district Superintendent of Police Vishal Gunni said.
Deputy Chief Minister (Home) N China Rajappa alleged that Padmanabham had hatched a conspiracy to incite violence in the name of foot march.

"Is he above the law? Why does he not take permission? As long as he doesn't take permission, we will not allow his yatra," Rajappa told reporters here.
Other ministers belonging to the Kapu community, P Narayana and Ganta Srinivasa Rao, also attacked Padmanabham saying he was acting as per YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy's script.

"Yes, we have promised reservations for Kapus and we will honour it. We are determined to extend reservations after the AP Commission for Backward Classes submits its report on the issue," they said.
Since January last year, Padmanabham had been on a war path on the Kapu reservation issue.
A rally that he had organised in Tuni in January 2016 had ended up in violence with miscreants setting fire to the Ratnachal Express.
Since then the government did not allow the Kapu leader to undertake any programme saying it would lead to violence.
Leader of Opposition Jaganmohan Reddy decried Padmanabham's house arrest.

"You place people under house arrest and take them into preventive custody only because they ask you to honour your promise. You are committing a grave mistake, Chandrababu garu," Jaganmohan Reddy said in a tweet.