Telugu Desam regional party leader Chandrababu Naidu wants the Andhra Pradesh state government to pay a higher rate of compensation to thousands of farmers whose crops have been devastated by recent heavy monsoon rains and subsequent flooding.
Nearly 400 supporters of Naidu, a former state chief minister, clashed with police as they arrested him on the charge of endangering his life and took him away from the fasting site in Hyderabad, the capital of southern Andhra Pradesh state.
"We have acted on the basis of doctors’ report that Naidu’s health was deteriorating," said city police commissioner A.K. Khan.
Naidu demanded that the state government pay farmers 10,000 rupees ($220) per acre of lost rice paddy crops and 15,000 rupees ($325) per acre of lost tobacco and chili crops. The state government is offering nearly 65 percent less.
In Andhra Pradesh, nearly 70 percent of the state’s population of 80 million people depends on agriculture.