Village and ward secretariat employees clashed with police at Dharna Chowk in Vijayawada on Sunday, 27 September 2026, during a mass protest called under the banner of 'Chalo Vijayawada' to press for long-pending demands including promotions and pending salary increments. The demonstration turned tense as police moved to detain protesters, triggering a scuffle that left several employees and police personnel injured. In a separate tragedy, Circle Inspector Ahmed Ali collapsed at the protest site and died of cardiac arrest while on duty.

How the Clashes Unfolded

A large number of employees, including women, converged on Dharna Chowk in response to the protest call. Demonstrators raised slogans demanding that the Andhra Pradesh government address pending promotions and other service-related grievances. When police attempted to detain protesters — physically lifting some into police vehicles — the crowd resisted, leading to a direct confrontation. Officers resorted to a cane charge to bring the situation under control. According to reports, at least 141 persons were detained during the operation.

Death of Circle Inspector Ahmed Ali

Circle Inspector Ahmed Ali suffered a cardiac arrest while performing his duties at Dharna Chowk. He collapsed on the ground and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital by fellow police personnel. He was declared dead on the way to the hospital. The incident added gravity to an already fraught situation and drew condolences from across the political spectrum.

YSRCP Condemns Crackdown

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) strongly condemned the police action. YSRCP MLC Lella Appi Reddy alleged that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led coalition government had reneged on its electoral promises and was deploying police against workers pressing for legitimate demands. He said, 'They were fighting for their just demands and the police had shown high-handedness in preventing the leaders and active participants of the village and ward secretariat and behaved in a harsh manner at the Dharna Chowk where they were protesting.'

Appi Reddy further alleged that many protest leaders were prevented from reaching the venue, and those who did were beaten up. He criticised the absence of ministerial oversight, noting that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh were away and no minister stepped in to engage with the protesters. He also alleged that Naidu had promised to double employees' pay on assuming office but had failed to honour that commitment.

Demands and the Secretariat System at Stake

YSRCP SC Cell State President and former MLA T.J.R. Sudhakar Babu demanded the unconditional release of all detained employees. He said the workers' core demands — promotions and two pending salary increments — were reasonable and should have been resolved through dialogue rather than police force. He also criticised the decision to reorganise 15,004 secretariats into 7,715 groups and alleged that the state government was planning to remove nearly 30,000 employees. Sudhakar Babu argued that the secretariat system, which he credited as delivering 540 government services at people's doorsteps, was being systematically weakened. He noted that these same employees had served as frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Political and Administrative Context

This comes amid growing friction between the TDP-led coalition and employee unions that were closely associated with the previous YSRCP government under former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who had created the village and ward secretariat network. Critics argue the restructuring of the system carries political undertones beyond administrative rationale. The situation remains fluid, with employee unions expected to escalate their agitation if the state government does not engage in formal negotiations.