Indian police detain 24 lawmakers for protesting outside Modi's residence

NEW DELHI - Indian police on Sunday detained as many as 24 lawmakers from a regional party for holding a sit-in protest outside the official residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital.

The lawmakers of regional Telegu Desam Party (TDP) staged the protest, demanding special status for the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

"We have detained the TDP lawmakers for protesting outside the prime minister's residence. However, no cases have been slapped on them. All the lawmakers will be freed later in the day," a senior police official said.

TDP last month pulled out of India's ruling coalition led by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and unsuccessfully attempted to bring in a no-confidence motion against the government in the Parliament over the latter's refusal to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh.

N. Chandrababu Naidu, the TDP chief and the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, has been furious over the Indian government's refusal to grant the southern state "special status" as promised after Telangana was carved out of it in 2014.

Andhra Pradesh is to go to polls next year and opposition parties are upping the ante against the "deprivation".