Andhra family stranded as car taken away for CM’s convoy

Amaravati: A family was left stranded on a road in Andhra Pradesh’s Ongole town after police 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.

A constable 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 constable reportedly told them that he can’t help except saying 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.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has taken serious note of the incident and ordered action against erring officials who forcibly took away the cab along with the driver.

Expressing his anguish about the incident, he said strict action would be taken against officials if they trouble people for the convoy.

Jagan Mohan Reddy has ordered departmental action against the erring officials who asked a cab driver to report to Ongole immediately since the vehicle was assigned to the convoy while he was taking a family to Tirumala.

“This kind of measure will not be tolerated especially when people are in trouble,” the Chief Minister said.

The issue came to light when the local media reported that a family was stranded on their way to Tirupati since their cab and its driver, who was assigned to Chief Minister’s convoy, were asked to report immediately by officials on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday termed as “atrocious” the snatching away of a 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 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 the YSRCP government to 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.

The TDP chief called it “shameful” on the part of the Government to shut down shops during the Chief Minister’s visits and to forcibly take away people’s cars.