TRS Maha Dharna sends strong warning to Centre

Hyderabad: More than seven years after the State formation, the TRS cadre returned to stage a protest at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park on Thursday. For the first time after assuming the post of Chief Minister of Telangana State, TRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao took up the mantle as an agitator and roared, sending a […]

Hyderabad: More than seven years after the State formation, the TRS cadre returned to stage a protest at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park on Thursday. For the first time after assuming the post of Chief Minister of Telangana State, TRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao took up the mantle as an agitator and roared, sending a strong warning to the BJP government at the Centre not to play with the future of farmers who were the backbone of the nation.

This was the second demonstration staged by the TRS against the Centre’s discrimination towards the State in terms of paddy procurement after the State-wide protests held on November 12. Earlier, the TRS staged protests opposing the merger of seven mandals from the erstwhile Khammam district in Andhra Pradesh and also participated in Bharath Bandh opposing the new farm laws.

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The entire TRS cadre was upbeat and even elated to participate in the dharna even as many of them recalled their memories of Dharna Chowk which was their home for several years throughout the Telangana movement. Though the party leadership had invited only Ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, Rythu Bandhu Samithi chairpersons, Zilla Parishad chairpersons, Mayors, Municipal chairpersons and other selected elected representatives, the TRS cadre too turned up in large numbers voluntarily. They arrived a couple of hours before the scheduled time of 11 am and could be seen sitting around even after the dharna concluded at 2 pm.

The TRS leaders too turned nostalgic and shared their memories of demonstrations staged at Dharna Chowk, with each other on the sidelines of the Maha Dharna. They felt that nothing had changed for them except that all the leaders have worn green scarfs replacing them with the party’s pink scarfs, in an attempt to express their solidarity with the farmers.

While Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao along with Ministers and other senior leaders sat for the protest on the dias, separate compartments were arranged for all the elected representatives and party cadre. Interestingly, TRS working president and Minister KT Rama Rao chose to sit along with the party’s elected representatives off the dias.

Sattupalli MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah became a major attraction at the meeting. He wore rice panicles specially designed for him and carried a plough along with him, in protest against the Centre’s discrimination towards the State. In the wake of Maha Dharna, the police have imposed traffic restrictions near Indira Park and diverted the traffic via alternate routes. However, the commuters faced inconvenience as TRS cadres turned up in unexpectedly large numbers.

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