Andhra Pradesh voter who slapped YSRCP MLA back says he fears for his family: Report
YSRCP MLA A Sivakumar was seen hitting and thrashing the voter who was standing in the queue after the latter objected to the legislator jumping the queue.
Gottumukkala Sudhakar, the voter from Andhra Pradesh who was brutally thrashed by Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) MLA A Sivakumar and his aides on a polling booth during the voting on Monday, has expressed his concern for his family's safety after the incident.
In a viral video, the YSR Congress MLA along with his several aides, was seen thrashing the voter who was standing in the queue after the latter objected to the legislator jumping the queue at a polling booth in Guntur district.
After the MLA hit Sudhakar, he retaliated and slapped the MLA back, but soon, Sivakumar's aides overpowered and started thrashing him.
While expressing his ordeal, Sudhakar said that he and other voters were in the queue when the MLA and his family members went inside the booth.
"Everyone should stand in queue and vote. No one enjoys special privileges. So I asked his followers to join the queue. They must have told him when he came out after voting. He came to me and asked me, 'who are you to question, how dare you?' And then he slapped me," he said to NDTV.
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While expressing his concern over his safety, he sought protection for his family from the potential threat from the legislator. "I don't know if my family is under threat. I seek protection for my mother, me and my family," he added.
"I didn't even realise I had done it till they told me later. When police came, I said I won't go anywhere before I vote. Police took me in through the exit gate. I voted, and they brought me out to the police station. They (MLA and his aides) beat me up so badly that I was bleeding, just because I asked them to follow rules," he further said to the news outlet.
Sivakumar had claimed that the man was drunk, made casteist remarks against him and was abusing him and his wife while clarifying his violent action.
"The man in question was drunk, was creating a nuisance, and was abusing me and my wife. He accused me of supporting the BC, SC, ST, and Minority communities despite being a Kamma. I got enraged over his baseless accusations and the yellow media blew the incident out of proportion without knowing the context. He made some very shocking casteist remarks which were totally unacceptable to me," Shivakumar told ANI.
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The state police have also filed a case against the MLA and his supporters based on the complaint lodged by Sudhakar.
Elections 2024
Polling for all 175 seats of the State Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh was held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls on Monday. The ruling YSRCP, seeking a second straight term, is contesting on all 175 seats. Against the ruling YSRCP, the NDA comprising BJP, Telugu Desam Party and Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena is contesting polls. The TDP is contesting on 144 assembly seats, Jana Sena on 21 and BJP on 10.
