# CITU protest turns tense in Tirupati, 32 leaders arrested 2026-08-20T04:29:14+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Tense moments prevailed near the Tirupati district Collectorate on Thursday after a scuffle broke out between police and CITU leaders during a rally of contract and outsourcing workers. Police arrested 32 protesters, including CITU State vice-president Kandarapu Murali, and shifted them to the Tiruchanoor police station. The workers had taken out the rally after completing a 40-day minimum wage campaign across Tirupati district. They demanded a minimum monthly wage of Rs 26,000, saying that both the Central and State governments had not revised salaries of contract and outsourcing workers for nearly two decades despite rising living costs. They also sought regularisation of their services. Addressing the gathering, CITU State vice-president Kandarapu Murali alleged that the coalition government in the State had betrayed workers by implementing the four labour codes. He said the government's promise to regularise three lakh contract and outsourcing workers had not been implemented, and criticised it for not increasing wages for around 50 lakh workers employed in scheduled industries. ## Indian Opinion Analysis This is the latest flashpoint in a long-running dispute over contract labour wages in Andhra Pradesh. The demand for Rs 26,000 monthly wage contrasts with the current minimum wage of around Rs 12,000 for many contract workers in the state. The four labour codes, passed by Parliament in 2019-20, have not yet been fully implemented by all states, including Andhra Pradesh. The next step will be the bail hearing for the 32 arrested leaders, which could shape the momentum of the ongoing campaign. ## Coverage - thehansindia.com Straight news report with no editorial slant, facts and allegations are attributed to CITU leaders. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Andhra Pradesh, CITU, Kandarapu Murali, Tirupati Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/citu-protest-turns-tense-in-tirupati-32-leaders-arrested/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/citu-protest-turns-tense-in-tirupati-32-leaders-arrested/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/