KTR, Harish, BRS legislators placed under house arrest ahead of “Chalo Bus Bhavan” protest

Police placed BRS leaders, including KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao, under house arrest to prevent them from joining the “Chalo Bus Bhavan” protest against the RTC fare hike. Heavy police deployment was seen across Hyderabad as tensions rose Thursday morning.

Hyderabad: Preventing the BRS legislators from participating in the party’s “Chalo Bus Bhavan” protest on Thursday, the police have placed them including party working president KT Rama Rao and senior MLA T Harish Rao under house arrest.

Tension prevailed in different parts of the city as police were deployed in large numbers since 6 am at the houses of senior BRS leaders across Hyderabad.

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The protest was planned to demand an immediate rollback of the RTC bus fare hike, which the BRS has described as anti-poor and unjust. A heavy police contingent was deployed at residences of Rama Rao and Harish Rao in Kokapet, as well as at the houses of several other senior BRS leaders, including Talasani Srinivas Yadav, T Padma Rao Goud, and P Sabita Indra Reddy, who had planned to reach Rethifile Bus Stand at 9 am and then travel by RTC bus to the Bus Bhavan to submit a memorandum to the corporation’s Managing Director.

Taking to X, Rama Rao expressed outrage at the police action. “All I wanted to do was board an RTC bus peacefully and submit a letter demanding rollback of the fare hike. Look at the number of police officers deployed outside my home, all to stop one person from boarding a bus?” he wrote.

Taking a swipe at the government, he added, “Wish the police showed the same enthusiasm in controlling Hyderabad’s rising crime rate.”

He asserted that the BRS would continue its agitation until the government withdrew the fare hike, calling the police action undemocratic and an indication of the Congress regime’s insecurity. He reminded that such police restrictions were not new for BRS leaders.