Anti-climax to Naidu’s Babli drama

In an anti-climax to the four-day long drama by Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders over the controversial Babli project, the Maharasthra government on Tuesday evening withdrew cases filed against them and tried to send them back to Hyderabad in a special flight from Aurangabad airport.

After the morning high handed behaviour by the Maharashtra police against Naidu and others at Dharmabad ITI led to severe criticism, things moved very fast at the Delhi level. Following an intervention from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan withdrew cases filed against the TDP leaders for allegedly trespassing into the prohibited Babli project area. He arranged a special flight from Aurangabad to send Naidu and others back to Hyderabad.

A high drama prevailed at Aurangabad, when Naidu strongly opposed the attempt of the police to send them to Hyderabad. He shouted at the bus driver, who could only take him and the other TDP leaders into the airport. Tension prevailed at the airport where the Shiv Sena activsits were staging a protest dharna.

The TDP president and his team staged a sit-in on the runway for a long time and refused to board the flight till they were shown the Babhali project. The police had to resort to lathicharge once again to make the MLAs forcibly board the flight. It is expected that the MLAs would come back to Hyderabad in a couple of hours.