Amaravati: In a bizarre incident that has now triggered a political slugfest in the state, a family in Andhra Pradesh was left stranded on a road in Ongole town after RTA officials took away the car in which they were travelling in along with the driver, saying they needed it for the convoy of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The shocking incident occurred on Wednesday night when the family travelling in the cab to Tirupati had stopped for dinner at a hotel in Ongole.
An RTA official told them that they needed the vehicle for the convoy of the Chief Minister who is scheduled to visit Ongole on Friday. When the family said they are going to Tirupati for pilgrimage, the official reportedly told them that he can't help, said "sorry" and took away the Innova vehicle along with the driver.
Vemula Srinivas of Vinukonda in Palnadu district and his family members including two women and two children were left stranded on the road. They had to spend the night at the RTC bus stand at Ongole. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has taken serious note of the incident and ordered action against erring officials following which two transport department officials were suspended on Thursday. One home guard, Tirupal Reddy and assistant motor vehicle Inspector, Sandhya, were suspended after the CM’s orders.
Reddy has also ordered departmental action against the erring officials. "This kind of measure will not be tolerated especially when people are in trouble," the Chief Minister said. Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday termed as "atrocious" the snatching away of the family's car. Naidu said the forcible taking away of the car by officials in Ongole once again exposed how the "anarchic" regime was afflicting the people of the state in the past three years.
In a statement, the leader of the opposition said it was unpardonable on the part of the RTA officials to cause suffering to Vemula Srinivas and his family. Naidu said the officials atrociously forced the family to get down from the car on the road and then drove it away. "Who gave the right to the officials to cause such inconvenience and suffering to a family by obstructing their journey?" he asked.
Naidu demanded that the YSRCP government explain whether the state economy had slipped into such a pitiable state that it was not able to arrange a car from its own resources for the convoy. "What sort of an example or message that the officials were sending to civil society by resorting to such a car snatching incident?" he asked.
Also read: Andhra Pradesh government flouts Constitution, other norms in fiscal management: CAG
