Two women journalists assaulted by followers of CM Revanth Reddy in his hometown
The journalists, known for their critical coverage of Revanth Reddy's administration, were allegedly targeted by the the Chief Minister's followers, who physically assaulted them, disregarding their status as women.
Hyderabad: Two women journalists, Avula Sarita and M Vijaya Reddy, were heckled, assaulted and pushed into the mud by followers of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, that too in his native village of Kondareddypally in Nagarkurnool district. The incident sparked outrage among journalists, who lodged a complaint with DGP Jitender and are now planning to approach the Telangana State Women’s Commission, seeking action against the attackers.
According to reports, Sarita and Vijaya Reddy were in Kondareddypally to investigate and report on the status of the farm loan waiver, a contentious issue in the State. The journalists, known for their critical coverage of Revanth Reddy‘s administration, were allegedly targeted by the the Chief Minister’s followers, who physically assaulted them, disregarding their status as women. Some of the assaulters snatched the cameras from the cameramen and took away the digital storage cards, preventing the journalists from eliciting views of the locals. The journalist team was also stopped from leaving the location. After much difficulty, the women along with their staff managed to escape and took refuge in the Veldandi police station even as their vehicles were chased, reportedly Congress workers and goons in several vehicles.
Some Congress leaders, who arrived at the police station, are also learnt to have misbehaved with the journalists on the station premises even as another group waited outside the police station. A small group of journalists who went to support their colleagues from Hyderabad, were also chased in four-wheelers on the highway. As the situation escalated, the police provided security with an escort vehicle for the journalists from Veldandi police station to Hyderabad and dropped the women journalists at their houses.
“The Congress workers physically assaulted me and my fellow journalist Vijaya Reddy while we were reporting on the implementation of the farm loan waiver. Our camera was smashed, phones were snatched and we were pushed into the mud. We lodged a complaint, but the police are refusing to file an FIR,” Sarita told Telangana Today.
The female journalists urged Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to recognise the troubling reality in Telangana, and hoped that the Press Council of India would take serious note of the unprecedented physical attack on women journalists.
Those who led the attack are learnt to be close aides of Chief Minister’s brother Tirupathi Reddy, with their photographs along with Revanth Reddy and Tirupathi Reddy, going viral on social media. Multiple unions of working journalists condemned the attacks, demanding stringent action against the attackers.
BRS working president KT Rama Rao also condemned the attack, calling it the first such incident in Telangana’s 10-year history and the 60-year history of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. He expressed shock and anger over the atrocious attack on journalists performing their duty.
“How is it that women journalists have no safety in this Congress regime, which claims to be Indiramma’s regime?” he asked, stating that the attack raised serious questions about the government’s commitment to press freedom and transparency. He demanded for immediate action against those involved in the assault, calling for registration of cases and arrests of those responsible. He also urged the Telangana State Women’s Commission to respond promptly and take appropriate action against the attackers.
Senior BRS leaders and former Ministers T Harish Rao, S Niranjan Reddy, P Sabitha Indra Reddy and several others also condemned the incident. They questioned the need for the aggressive behaviour of Congress workers if the crop loan waiver had genuinely benefited the farmers.
