Andhra seeks 80 companies of paramilitary forces for by-polls

Hyderabad, June 21 : Andhra Pradesh has sought 80 companies of paramilitary forces, or nearly 8,000 troopers, from the central government for by-elections to 12 assembly seats in Telangana region, an official said Monday.State police chief R.R.Girish Kumar told reporters in Karimnagar town that the state needed the additional troopers for smooth and peaceful conduct of the polls. Seeking cooperation from all for the polls, the director general of police warned of strict action against those creating trouble. "In a democracy everybody has a right to campaign. If anybody tries to create trouble, we will take action as per the law," he said. His warning was an obvious reference to the threats by Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) and other pro-Telangana groups to stop both the ruling Congress and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from contesting the by-elections, likely to be held in July-August. JAC is pressurising Congress and TDP not to field candidates to allow unanimous election of those who resigned in February this year to demand separate Telangana state. All 10 legislators of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and one each of the TDP and the Bharatiya Janata Party had quit to press the demand for separate Telangana state to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh. Some pro-Telangana student groups Sunday threatened to stall Chief Minister K.Rosaiah's visit to Nizamabad district where by-election is scheduled for one assembly seat. The Election Commission is likely to issue poll notification this week. Meanwhile, TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu held a meeting with senior party leaders to discuss the strategy for the by-elections.
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