Telangana BJP chief, other leaders detained to foil protest in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao and other party leaders were detained by the police in Moinabad near Hyderabad in view of the call given by the party to lay siege to the Telangana Secretariat over civic issues in Hyderabad on Friday.

With the slogan ‘Save Hyderabad’, the BJP has given a call to lay siege to the Telangana Secretariat.

While several BJP leaders were taken into preventive custody in the morning, some were arrested when they reached the Secretariat to stage the protest.

State BJP chief Rao and other leaders were detained at Moinabad when they were allegedly coming to Hyderabad.

Rao took to the social media platform ‘X’ to allege that he was arrested while he was on a visit to Chevella. He termed this as an attempt by the government to suppress the voice of those questioning it on public issues.

The state BJP chief said that the drainage system in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) jurisdiction has completely collapsed.

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“Roads are riddled with potholes, traffic control is nonexistent, and colonies have become a living hell due to the stench of garbage. Drinking water shortages, electricity issues… these are the daily struggles of the people. The recent incidents in Ramanthapur and Old City areas, where innocent lives were lost, are all outcomes of government negligence,” he said.

Rao criticised Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, saying he is busy with Delhi tours rather than serving the people.

“As the Municipal Administration Minister, his priority is not public service but commissions. A Congress government that cannot solve problems, plays with people’s lives and suppresses democracy is not needed in Telangana,” said the BJP leader.

He stated state unit of the BJP will fight alongside the people on every issue and in every street.

Earlier, some BJP leaders and workers managed to reach near the Secretariat. They tried to scale the main gate of the Secretariat but were arrested by the police.

A large number of policemen were deployed at the Secretariat to foil any protest.

BJP state vice-president and former MLA NVSS Prabhakar and former Central minister Bandaru Dattatreya’s daughter Vijayalakshmi were among those detained by police as they tried to march towards the Secretariat.

BJP corporators and other leaders have been placed under house arrest since Friday to stop them from participating in the protest.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar condemned Ramchander Rao’s detention.

He asked why the state BJP president was detained.

Bandi Sanjay alleged that the Congress government is trying to hide its “failures” by detaining BJP leaders.

He said the Congress government was following in the footsteps of the previous BRS government.