Several Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders said on Friday (September 13, 2024) that they were put under house arrest.
| Photo Credit: Handle @BRSHarish on X
Main leaders of the Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) including former ministers, MLAs, MLCs, MPs and others were confined to their homes and party offices by the police—who were deployed in large numbers at the locations across Telangana on Friday (September 13, 2024) in the wake of the party call to proceed to Serilingampally MLA Arekapudi Gandhi’s residence in Kukatpally for a party meeting.
Several former ministers including T. Harish Rao, P. Sabitha Indra Reddy, T. Srinivas Yadav, MLAs Madhavaram Krishna Rao, K.P. Vivekanand and several other legislators in Hyderabad and elsewhere were not allowed to venture out of their residences. The police have also took into custody the BRS activists proceeding to Medchal-Malkajigiri district BRS president Shambipur Raju’s home at Mallampet along with another MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy there.
The police did not even allow former minister and MLA V. Suitha Laxma Reddy and former MP M. Kavitha meet Mr. Harish Rao at his residence and were taken into custody. The party leaders said they did not allow Mr. Harish Rao even go to the hospital for the treatment of his left shoulder in which he suffered a severe muscle sprain when the police lifted him out from the Cyberabad Police Commissioner’s office on Thursday (September 12, 2024). Mr. Rao along with several other former ministers, legislators and others were taken to the Keshampet police station in Rangareddy district after moving them to several locations for over three hours before letting them go.
Mr. Harish Rao was allowed to visit a private hospital at Gachibowli along with a police contingent accompanying him around 11 am.
Speaking to media persons at his residence, Mr. Raju said the police were not allowing them to go to Mr. Gandhi’s residence who claimed on Thursday that he was still with BRS. Another MLC Deshapathi Srinivas faulted the Congress attempts to dub the Thursday’s incidents as a ploy to create regional differences among people in Telangana.
He mentioned that it was Mr. Gandhi who had questioned Mr. Kaushik Reddy that how the latter from Karimnagar would come and speak against him (Gandhi) in Hyderabad. It was only then Mr. Kaushik Reddy responded asking Mr. Gandhi that when a person who had come from another region could use filthy language against him (Mr. Reddy), he being the Telanganite had every reason to hit back.
KTR condemns house arrests
In a statement, BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao condemned the ‘illegal arrests’ of party activists and house arrests of party leaders by the police across the State and sought to know whether ‘Indiramma Rajyam’ meant denying the democratic right to even have a party meeting.
It was the Congress party that had disturbed law and order by allowing Mr. Gandhi reach Mr. Kaushik Reddy’s residence. While the former corssed three police station limits, Mr. Reddy was not allowed to even step out of his residence, he said.
Published – September 13, 2024 11:25 am IST
