Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of Northeast Region G. Kishan Reddy and State BJP president has accused the BRS government of misusing the police to crush dissent and deny the right to protest against its “anti-people policies”.
“Are we protesting inside KCR’s farmhouse? We had taken court and police permissions, and yet we were dealt with roughly. Is it a Nizam’s government? Many autocrats were finally ‘extinguished’ by the power of Ambedkar’s Constitution. Everyone has a right to express dissent but in Telangana, the democratic rights are being trampled. We are not supposed to protest outside or question the government inside the Assembly,” he said.
Addressing partymen at the BJP office in Hyderabad on Thursday after former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Javadekar had offered him lime juice to make him break his 24-hour fast, he accused police personnel of treating the BJP cadre, including women, in a rough manner while removing him from the protest site at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park on Wednesday night.
Mr. Reddy and other leaders planned to take up a round-the-clock protest to highlight the ‘government failure’ in addressing the problems of the unemployed youth, including not filling up vacant posts, not giving unemployment stipend, etc.
The BJP leader, who suffered bruises when the police forcibly lifted him and transported him amidst a lot of shoving with the cadre trying to prevent the arrest, had to be medically examined after he was brought to the party office by the police. He, later, continued his fast till Thursday morning.
The Minister observed that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was worried about the support the protest was getting from the society and had used the police to disrupt it.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah called up Mr. Reddy and expressed the Centre’s total support to his protest programmes, said party sources.
Mr. Javadekar also praised Mr. Reddy’s protest and questioned the police action when it was being done “peacefully”. “We will be relentless in our united battle against BRS corruption and illegalities to save the youth,” he said.
Former Minister and election campaign committee chairman Eatala Rajender said that Telangana was under a police dragnet with false cases against political opponents and only police recruitment was being done at the expense of other jobs.
