BRS protests erupt across Telangana over arrest of MLAs, MLCs

BRS cadres staged protests, dharnas and road blockades across Telangana on Monday following the arrest of party MLAs and MLCs. Demonstrations in Hyderabad and several districts disrupted traffic, triggered clashes with police and resulted in further arrests, as the party vowed to intensify agitation

Hyderabad: Protests erupted against the arrest of BRS MLAs and MLCs at the Assembly gates, with the party cadre staging dharnas, road blockades and burning effigies of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy across Telangana on Monday. The protests disrupted traffic at multiple locations and led to further arrests as police moved to clear the roads.

The protests were triggered by the detention of the BRS leaders after they were stopped from entering the Assembly while wearing black T-shirts to highlight the Congress government’s failures during its 1,000-day rule. The confrontation at the Assembly gates led to a scuffle between police and BRS legislators, with the party alleging that KT Rama Rao, T Harish Rao, G Jagadish Reddy and others were manhandled.

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Following a call given by the party leadership, BRS leaders and cadres took to the streets in Hyderabad, Medchal, Suryapet, Nalgonda, Siddipet, Karimnagar, Jogulamba Gadwal and other districts, condemning the Congress government’s high-handedness against opposition legislators.

In Siddipet, BRS activists staged a dharna at Ponnala Dhaba on the Karimnagar-Hyderabad highway in protest against Harish Rao’s arrest. Traffic was disrupted for nearly half an hour, with vehicles queuing up for kilometres before police cleared the protesters.

Suryapet witnessed another major road blockade at Anjanapuri crossroads on the national highway. BRS leaders raised slogans against the Congress government and police, resulting in a kilometres-long traffic jam.

Similar protests were held on the Medchal highway, where BRS leaders blocked traffic over the arrests. Protesters accused the government of curbing the democratic rights of opposition leaders. Police detained several agitators.

In Hyderabad, BRS workers staged protests at Karmanghat in LB Nagar, Secunderabad Cantonment, Quthbullapur, KPHB and several other areas, demanding protection of democratic rights and an end to what they called attempts to silence the Opposition.

In Choppadandi, protesters attempted to burn the Chief Minister’s effigy, prompting police to detain former MLA Sunkе Ravishankar and other leaders. Similar attempts in Nakrekal were also stopped by police, with several protesters arrested.

In Nalgonda district, protests were held at the district Collectorate, Miryalaguda bus stand and other locations. Former MLA Nallamothu Bhaskar Rao was arrested after police intervened to clear the road blockade.

Demonstrations were also staged in Miryalaguda, Kodad, Nagaram, Nuthankal, Peddavoora, Karimnagar, Sircilla, Cherial and Jogulamba Gadwal. In several places, protesters attempted to burn effigies of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, leading to clashes with police followed by arrests.

BRS leaders said the arrests reflected the government’s attempt to silence the Opposition and vowed to intensify the agitation.