Tension prevailed at the Visakhapatnam airport for nearly three hours on Thursday evening, as YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy made a vain attempt to enter the city and lead a silent protest rally on the Ramakrishna beach here, seeking special category status for Andhra Pradesh. He was forcibly sent back to Hyderabad on a plane.
The Leader of Opposition, who arrived from Hyderabad with other party leaders, was prevented from leaving the airport by police, who cited the high-alert on Republic Day and the holding of a CII summit as reasons for denying permission for his rally.
However, an adamant Jagan sat on the runway, later being shifted to a place near the lounge, and detained for nearly two hours. Outside the airport, YSRC workers shouted slogans against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Several YSR Congress leaders were taken into preventive custody in the city, as they tried to head to the beach. There was heavy police deployment all over the city, especially at the beach road, to prevent untoward incidents.
Right from the morning, young protesters tried to head towards the beach to register their protest. But they were not allowed to do so. Several of them were taken into preventive custody.