Left parties protest Andhra firing,leaders, activists arrested

New Delhi, July 30 (UNI) In a stern warning, the Left parties today asked the Congress leadership to ''rein in'' the Y S Rajashekhar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh which they alleged was ''resorting to politics of bullets to thwart the poor man's struggle for land''.

While the CPI(M) Polit Bureau sought the Centre's immediate intervetion to solve the crisis, the CPI urged the state government to set up a Land Commission as recommended by a State Committee.

They also organised protest marches and demonstrations across the country today against the Khammam incident, in which eight persons were killed in police firing during a state-wide bandh.

In Delhi, police arrested CPI(M-L) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharjee, party Delhi unit Secretary Rajinder Patholi and Central Committee member Prabhat Kumar, while they were participating in a march to the Andhra Bhavan. Several other party leaders and over 100 activists were also detained. Police had to use water canons to disperse the agitationists.

Three CPI(M) activists were injured during a demonstration near the Andhra Bhavan, party's Delhi unit leaders said. The student and women wings of the party also participated.

Addressing the protestors, politbureau member S R Pillai said Chief Minister YSR Reddy has completely exposed himself as ''a stooge of the land mafia during the three-month-old struggle''.

''Instead of showing any inclination to agreeing to the demands of the people for a piece of land, he has made every effort to repress the struggle,'' he added.

The CPI will be holding its demonstration tomorrow.

CPI national Secretary Shamim Faizi said the party unit in AP will meet tomorrow at Hyderabad for two days from Wednesday to review the land strugle and the police repurcussions. It would also ponder over its relations with the state government, he said.

The party unit, along with other opposition parties has, in a memorandum to the Andhra government, has sought a judicial enquiry by a sitting judge into the police firing incident.

He said though the state government has announced punitive action against the guilty police officials and adequate compensation to the kin of those killed, it was yet to set up a Land Commission.

UNI