Fierce clashes and arson broke out in the town of Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday as protesters rallied against the government’s decision to rename the newly created district of Konaseema after Dr BR Ambedkar.
Protesters set fire to the house of ruling YSRCP Mummidivaram MP P Satish and also burned furniture kept outside the home of Transport Minister P Viswarup, police said.
Konaseema SP K Subba Reddy told The Indian Express that protesters also torched police vehicles and buses.
The violence erupted on Tuesday after thousands of protesters tried to break into the district’s collector compound.
“Several police officers were injured. We are showing restraint while trying to bring the violence under control,” he said.
The violence erupted on Tuesday after thousands of protesters tried to break into the district’s collector compound.
As police used batons and fired into the air to disperse the crowd, protesters responded by throwing stones.
Name game
The Andhra government argued that the decision to rename Konaseema after Dr BR Ambedkar was taken at the behest of the “large SC population” in the district. However, non-SC groups, who are leading the protests, want the “traditional name” of the tourist region to be retained.
Carved out of East Godavari district, Konaseema is among 13 new districts announced by the government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in April.
The problems started earlier this month when the government announced it would rename the district after Dr BR Ambedkar. He said the decision was made with the district’s “large SC population” in mind.
The violence erupted on Tuesday after thousands of protesters tried to break into the district’s collector compound.
The seat of Konaseema, Amalapuram, where the clashes erupted on Tuesday, is an SC-only parliamentary constituency.
However, protesters, led by groups such as Konaseema Parirakshana Samiti, Konaseema Sadhana Samiti and Konaseema Udyama Samiti, demanded that the “traditional name” of the tourist region be retained.
Nestled between the Bay of Bengal and the tributaries of the Godavari River, the backwaters of Koonaseema are often compared to those of Kerala.
As police used batons and fired into the air to disperse the crowd, protesters responded by throwing stones.
Transport Minister Viswarup, however, blamed the protests on the opposition Telugu Desam party.
“The state government has renamed Konaseema to Ambedkar district while accepting the applications as a large portion of the district’s population belongs to the SC community. But the TDP launched these protests to cause unrest,” he said.
Government adviser for public affairs Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said the name change was ordered after “careful consideration of the composition of the population” and after requests from residents.
“It’s unfortunate that the divisive forces turned this into a problem,” he added.
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