BRS condemns arrest of Doodimetla Balaraju Yadav

The BRS condemned the arrest of former corporation chairman Doodimetla Balaraju Yadav in an SC/ST Act case and demanded his unconditional release. The party and T Harish Rao described the arrest as an attack on democratic political criticism.

Hyderabad: The BRS condemned the arrest of its leader and former corporation chairman Doodimetla Balaraju Yadav in an SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act case filed on a complaint by Induja Reddy, wife of Congress MLC Balmuri Venkat. The party demanded his immediate and unconditional release.

Balaraju Yadav was arrested after he addressed a media conference criticising Balmuri Venkat over his alleged objectionable remarks against BRS working president KT Rama Rao and BRSLP deputy leader T Harish Rao. He questioned the registration of an SC/ST Atrocities Act case over his political response to Venkat’s comments.

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In a statement, the BRS alleged that Balaraju Yadav was arrested for questioning baseless political allegations against its leaders. It asked whether Opposition leaders and party workers had no right to question allegations made by those holding responsible positions in the government.

The party said political criticism should be answered politically and not through police action, adding that the arrest was contrary to democratic principles. It demanded that the case against Balaraju Yadav be withdrawn and that he be released without conditions.

BRS Legislature Party deputy leader T Harish Rao also condemned the arrest, stating that questioning the government on public issues was a democratic right. He termed the arrest of leaders for raising people’s concerns unacceptable. He demanded the immediate withdrawal of the case and Balaraju Yadav’s unconditional release.