Tirupati

Amit Shah

Tirumala

Chandrababu Naidu

Narendra Modi

Protest demanding Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh.

: The attack on’s convoy in Tirupati is snowballing into a huge controversy between the friends-turned-foes Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP). The BJP has charged its estranged friend TDP with preplanning the attack. The TDP, on the other, not only condemned the attack but also ordered probe into the incident.Earlier in the day, the BJP president could not escape the heat of the protests for Special Category Status (SCS), when he came tohill shrine along with family. A bunch of angry protesters attacked his convoy with stones on Friday.Chief Minister Ncondemned the unruly behaviour of his Telugu Desam Party workers in Tirupati. "It is against our party discipline. Workers should not bring bad name to the party with their behaviour. We have to take stern action if such misdeeds repeat. We should agitate in democratic ways," he warned party workers at a TDP meeting at his residence in Amaravati.Taking note of the incident state home minister N Chinna Rajappa ordered a probe. “Once the person who threw the stone at a private vehicle is identified, action will be taken. Our government does not does not tolerate undemocratic behaviour in any section”, Rajappa said.Tirupati urban superintendent of police Abhishek Mohanty said, “A stone is said to have been thrown at a private car. Once we establish the identity of the person, we will bring him to book”.BJP Telangana state unit president Dr K Lakshman condemned the attack aiming BJP president Amit Shah. “It is a preplanned attack. The government should prove its sincerity by suspending the police superintendent who failed in his duties”.Committee for Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh president Ch Srinivas also condemned the attack on Amit Shah. “Amit Shah had come for the darshan of Lord Balaji. It his was his personal and private visit. Attacks in such situations are not acceptable”, he said.Telangana Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao said, “This is only a beginning for the BJP president. The BJP leaders will face attacks wherever they go”.It may be mentioned that Prime Ministerpromised Andhra Pradesh Special category Status from Tirupati during the 2014 election campaign. However, the Centre subsequently offered to give special assistance package in place of SCS. That too did not materialise.Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on April 30 addressed a mammoth gathering at the same venue, where he re-telecasted Modi's assurances and attacked the Centre for going back on its commitments.Including the ruling TDP, several parties have been agitating against the Centre's raw deal to Andhra Pradesh.