BRS leaders kept under house arrest ahead of farmers’ protest; KTR, Harish Rao slam government

Several BRS leaders, including Vemula Prashanth Reddy, were placed under preventive house arrest ahead of a farmers’ protest against Telangana’s urea distribution app. BRS leaders KT Rama Rao and Harish Rao criticised the Congress government over the arrests and fertiliser shortages

Hyderabad: Several BRS leaders, including former minister and Balkonda MLA Vemula Prashanth Reddy, were placed under preventive house arrest on Tuesday ahead of a planned farmers’ protest in Nizamabad district against the state government’s urea distribution app system.

Police reached Prashanth Reddy’s residence in Banjara Hills early in the morning and prevented him from leaving to attend the protest at Tadwai mandal headquarters. The agitation, led by BRS Yellareddy constituency in-charge Jajala Surender, was organised to demand withdrawal of the app-based urea distribution system and highlight fertiliser shortages faced by farmers.

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In Kamareddy district, former MLA Hanumanth Shinde was also placed under house arrest in Bichkunda to stop him from participating in the protest. Several other BRS leaders reportedly faced similar restrictions.

Reacting strongly, BRS working president KT Rama Rao condemned the house arrests and termed it as evidence of the Congress government’s anti-democratic attitude. After speaking to Prashanth Reddy over the phone, Rama Rao criticised the government for attempting to silence leaders who were raising farmers’ concerns.

Rama Rao said that, failing to address the urea shortage affecting farmers across Telangana, the Congress government was using the police machinery against the opposition. He lashed out at the ruling Congress for forcing farmers to stand in long queues due to the app-based distribution system while the government remained indifferent to their hardships.

He asserted that raising issues affecting farmers was the constitutional responsibility of the opposition and neither BRS leaders nor farmers would be intimidated by house arrests or restrictions.

BRS Legislature Party deputy leader T Harish Rao also condemned the house arrest of Prashanth Reddy and other BRS leaders. He said the protest was aimed at demanding the immediate withdrawal of the urea app, which was causing more distress to farmers than providing relief. He accused the Revanth Reddy government of failing to ensure adequate urea supply and attempting to suppress opposition voices through undemocratic measures.

“The government has completely surrendered on the issue of urea supply and is now trying to stifle dissent instead of addressing farmers’ problems,” he said. He warned that farmers’ anger would intensify if the issue remained unresolved. He demanded that the government scrap the app-based system and restore the earlier manual method of fertiliser distribution.