Telangana BJP chief faces TRS heat
Nalgonda: Upping the ante against the BJP leadership over paddy procurement, the TRS cadre stiffly resisted BJP State president and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay’s visit to paddy procurement centres as part of his two-day tour in Nalgonda and Suryapet districts. They staged protests demanding him to go back, leading to clashes between the activists of […]
Nalgonda: Upping the ante against the BJP leadership over paddy procurement, the TRS cadre stiffly resisted BJP State president and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay’s visit to paddy procurement centres as part of his two-day tour in Nalgonda and Suryapet districts. They staged protests demanding him to go back, leading to clashes between the activists of TRS and BJP.
Tension escalated at Shettipalem near Miryalaguda, as workers of both the parties resorted to hurling stones on each other, prompting the police to use force to disperse the warring crowds. At least two persons were injured and a vehicle was damaged in the stone pelting at Chillapally. Police had to repeatedly use force to bring situation under control.
The BJP State president faced some tough time, when he managed to speak to some farmers at Arjala Bavi and other paddy procurement centres. With farmers shooting questions directly on whether the Centre would be procuring paddy in Telangana in Yasangi or not, Sanjay evaded a direct answer, but maintained that the Centre never said it would stop paddy procurement. When the farmers, including a woman farmer, began buttonholing him asking him if he could give an unequivocal assurance about paddy procurement, he moved away without giving any answer. He had to call off his visit as farmers grew restive.
High tension prevailed at the paddy procurement centre at Arjala Bavi in Nalgonda district ahead of the BJP State president’s visit. The TRS cadre led by Nalgonda MLA Kancherla Bhupal Reddy demanded that Sanjay should get an assurance from the Centre to purchase paddy, before visiting the paddy procurement centres. The MLA argued that Sanjay had no moral right to visit the paddy procurement centres and appealed to farmers to question the BJP leader about the Central government’s decision not to procure paddy during Yasangi (Rabi) season.
Irked by this, BJP activists who came to welcome their party’s State president raised slogans against the TRS MLA. The TRS cadre too reacted with counter slogans, which led to tension much before the arrival of the BJP leader.
At the request of the police officials, Bhupal Reddy left the place, but the TRS members continued to raise the slogan ‘Bandi Sanjay Go Back’ by waving black flags.
The procurement centre locality became extremely tense when some BJP workers threw stones on the TRS members, who were staging a demonstration at a corner of the IKP centre. A police team holding ropes confined the TRS workers to a corner. The swift reaction of the police also foiled a person’s attempt to throw an egg on Sanjay when he was addressing the media. The police had a tough time controlling the two groups.
Two persons reportedly hurled eggs at the convoy of Sanjay near Tanish Hotel, when he was on the way to Miryalaguda from Arjala Bavi. The two persons managed to escape after the incident.
The enraged BJP members staged a rasta roko on Narketpally-Addanki State highway for 15 minutes, which caused traffic jam. They demanded that the police arrest the TRS activists who were responsible for stone pelting and hurling of eggs. The TRS members also staged a demonstration in front of IKP centres demanding the arrest of the BJP members, who pelted stones at them.
Meanwhile, the BJP State president managed to interact with farmers at Arjala Bavi and other paddy procurement centres, only to face some tough questions from farmers who grilled him to clarify if the Centre was willing to procure paddy for Yasangi season or not. Evading a direct answer, Sanjay stated that the Centre never told that it would stop paddy procurement. When a woman farmer, Madagani Yadamma, insisted that he give an assurance in this regard, he moved from her paddy stock without giving any reply. As the farmers did not respond positively to his visit, Sanjay concluded his visit at Arjala Bavi IKP centre within 10 minutes.
Also read: Two injured during clashes between TRS, BJP in Nalgonda
Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.
Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .
