YSRCP leader Gudivada Amarnath received a six-month jail sentence and a Rs 5,000 fine for a 2016 protest. The case, treated as an attempted suicide, stemmed from his ‘strike unto death’ for a Special Railway Zone. He plans to appeal the verdict.
Jail Term for 2016 Protest
YSRCP leader and former Andhra Pradesh Minister Gudivada Amarnath has been sentenced to six months of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 by a court.
Gudivada Amarnath undertook a strike unto death in 2016 at the Gandhi statue in Visakhapatnam to press for a Special Railway Zone. As his health deteriorated during this period, the police registered a case against him, treating the incident as an attempted suicide. A court recently announced its verdict.
Amarnath stated that he intends to approach the High Court regarding this verdict. “The Court has sentenced me to six months in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 in connection with the struggle I waged to secure a Railway Zone for North Andhra. I have the utmost respect for the court’s verdict. I intend to appeal to the High Court. I am even prepared to go to jail for the sake of the people of Andhra Pradesh. The administration under Chandrababu in Andhra Pradesh has become utterly chaotic and incomprehensible,” Amarnath told ANI.
YSRCP Challenges State’s Land Policy
Amaranath had said last month that the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the land policy of the state government, alleging that “large extent of valuable public land are being allotted to a few real estate companies at very low prices”.
Addressing the media here, Amarnath said the party has raised serious concerns over the decision to allocate land to private real estate firms, particularly companies from outside the state. “The YSR Congress Party has filed a Public Interest Litigation challenging the Andhra Pradesh government’s land policy. We strongly question the government’s decision to allot large extents of land to a few real estate companies at very low prices,” he said. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)