Demolition of Chandrababu Naidu's 'Praja Vedika' in Amaravati begins in presence of large police force

As many as six bulldozers along with dozens of workers arrived outside the Praja Vedika or people’s grievance cell as the process to demolish the Rs 10 crore sprawling complex, constructed during the tenure of former chief minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, has started late Tuesday evening. Earlier, preparations were taken to vacate the furniture and electronic equipment and segregate items that can be reused. A large number of police contingent has been also deployed to avoid any untoward incident in the view of possible protests by the TDP.

"Demolition of 'Praja Vedike' building underway in Amaravati. The building was constructed by the previous government led by N Chandrababu Naidu," the news agency ANI reported.

#WATCH: Demolition of 'Praja Vedike' building underway in Amaravati. The building was constructed by the previous government led by N. Chandrababu Naidu. #AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/qRCWjfVTJZ

— ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2019

The development comes days after Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy ordered demolition of the government building on a riverbed in Amaravati, saying it was built in "violation" of rules and "involved corruption". The order by Jaganmohan effectively meant rejection of Naidu's plea to him earlier this month that the hall, used for official meetings in the previous regime, be declared as 'residence annex' of the Leader of Opposition.

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Reddy made the announcement in his inaugural speech at a two-day conference of district Collectors and Superintendents of Police that began Monday as the gathering of state ministers and top bureaucrats greeted it with applause.

The 'Praja Vedika' (grievance hall) was built by the AP Capital Region Development Authority on the Krishna riverbed near the residence of Naidu, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and the present Leader of the Opposition. Naidu, who was holidaying in Europe, is scheduled to return to Delhi tonight.

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In a thumping performance, YSRCP had won 151 of the 175 Assembly seats and 22 of the 25 parliamentary constituencies in Andhra Pradesh, the elections for which were held on April 11. Following, Reddy was unanimously elected as the leader of the YSRC Legislature Party and became the chief minister of the state. The TDP, which suffered a rout in both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, currently has 23 MLAs in Andhra Pradesh Assembly.