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DUJ condemns attack on journalists as violence mars Andhra civic polls

By A Representative 
The Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) has expressed alarm at the violence that has marked Andhra Pradesh's urban local body elections, and condemned the mob attack on two India Today journalists in Pulivendula.
Reporter Abdul Basheer and cameraperson S. Vijay were attacked on November 1 while covering polling near a booth in the town, in Kadapa district. Reports said their camera was smashed and their phones taken.
The DUJ said the mob broke the equipment to destroy the footage they had recorded. Other media crews were also targeted that day. Reports said an NTV reporter was attacked, and journalists from The News Minute were warned by a group of men not to film at a Pulivendula polling booth. PTI reported that polling in the 100 urban local bodies was largely peaceful, apart from violence in Kadapa district.
The trouble began well before polling day. Clashes between workers of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) broke out during nominations in October, and police fired warning shots in Pulivendula, the constituency of former chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The DUJ said sixteen FIRs were filed by candidates whose nomination papers were snatched and destroyed, which it said suggested a deliberate political strategy to win by hook or by crook. The YSRCP has accused the TDP of using violence to manipulate the polls, while the TDP has made counter-accusations, including a claim that the YSRCP brought in outsiders to create unrest. Jagan has demanded re-polling in Pulivendula, alleging rampant rigging, and has also called for Union government intervention.
The union said an estimated 75,000 people were forced by police to sign peace bonds under threat of arrest, and social media activists were similarly bound. Many leaders were placed under house arrest, and appeals to the High Court and Supreme Court have produced no concrete results. A total of 599 municipal ward seats across 46 urban local bodies were declared uncontested, and the DUJ said 96 percent of them went to the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance. Counting of votes for 92 urban local bodies began on Tuesday amid tight security.
The DUJ noted that journalists often fall into the line of fire in violently contested elections while simply doing their jobs. It demanded that the State Government and the State Election Commission act fairly and responsibly and ensure peaceful elections from nomination day to counting day. 
The statement was signed by DUJ President Sujata Madhok, Vice President S.K. Pande and General Secretary Jigeesh A.M.

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