Kapu protest over quota turns violent in Andhra

Protesters belonging to the Kapu caste set fire to Ratnachal Express when it halted at Tuni railway station in East Godavari district.

The agitation for inclusion of Kapu community in other backward classes (OBC) list has turned violent in Andhra Pradesh with the activists going berserk and torching public properties in several areas of coastal region on Sunday.
The protesters set ablaze eight bogies of Ratnachal express near Tuni town in East Godavari district, torched a local police station and eight police vehicles and caused large scale damage to public property.
The Telugu Desam Party government was caught off guard by the sudden burst of violence. Kapus, the numerically strong and influential community, has been demanding backward class status for several decades now. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had promised in its 2014 election manifesto that it would take all necessary steps for inclusion of Kapus in the backward classes list. It had set up a commission to study the issue.
Accusing the TDP government of ignoring their long-pending demand, the protestors, who gathered in Tuni following a call under Kapu Samaikhya Garjana by prominent Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham, resorted to stone pelting, injuring several railway officials. The agitators squatted on the tracks and stopped the Ratnachal express. They, climbed on the train and damaged hose pipe and glasses of the coach. Late, they set afire four coaches. However all the passengers are reported safe.
In all, 14 trains on the Visakhaapatnam line including Visakhapatnam-Kakinada passenger (train number 57256) and Visakhapatnam-Rajahmundry MEMU passenger were cancelled. An emergency helpline was set up at Visakhapatnam to help stranded passengers.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has called for an emergency meet to discuss the issue. However the protestors say that the chief minister has failed in keeping his promise to extend BC status to Kapu caste and only formed a commission to look into the demands of the community.
The situation turned chaotic as nearly 200,000 protestors blocked the Chennai - Kolkata national highway affecting vehicular movement. Trouble is also reported in Krishna district where Kapus are in large numbers. The protests have spread to Vijayawada and blockades were also reported in Krishnalanka.
Additional police forces have been sent from Vizag, Rajahmundry to Tuni, to bring the situation under control. The situation is said to be still tense with the agitators refusing to vacate the national highway till Naidu concedes to their demands. Several leaders of the Kapu community including Botsa Satyanarayan of YSR Congress, Pallam Raju, former union minister, Vatti Vasantha Kumar, congress leader, and former minister extended support to the Kapu movement.
Following a public appeal made by the chief minister, the protesters announced on Monday that they would suspend the agitation but vowed to renew it if the government failed to meet their demand.