Hyderabad: Police on Friday foiled the BJP’s plan to lay siege to the Telangana state Legislative Assembly after detaining its top leaders and scores of workers. The BJP leaders were demanding an official celebration of the Telangana liberation day on September 17.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar and former president K. Laxman were among the leaders detained as they were trying to proceed towards the Assembly.
Sanjay was rounded up when he left his residence in Banjara Hills along with dozens of supporters. There was a heated argument between the police and the BJP leaders.
Stating that there is no permission for the protest, police detained the BJP leader. There was mild tension as his supporters tried to stop the police vehicle carrying him.
Some BJP leaders were placed under house arrest to foil the protest march. Telangana Legislative Council member Ramachandra Rao took exception to his house arrest and alleged that the police prevented him from going to the Council to attend the session.
Police also arrested former BJP state president K. Laxman and his supporters when they were heading towards the Assembly.
The arrested leaders and workers were shifted to various police stations in the city.
Police also arrested scores of BJP workers trying to reach Hyderabad from various parts of the state to participate in the protest programme.
The protestors from different parts of Hyderabad and surrounding areas kept trying to reach the Assembly throughout the day.
Police made tight security arrangements around the Assembly. The protestors were stopped and arrested near Nampally and Basheerbagh cross roads.
The protestors raised slogans against the Chief Minister and demanded that the government officially celebrate Telangana liberation day.
The BJP has long been demanding that Telangana liberation day be celebrated officially.
It was on this day in 1948 that the Hyderabad State was merged with the Indian Union following the Centre’s military action, popularly known as the ‘Police Action’.
The BJP argues that in those districts of Karnataka and Maharashtra, which were part of erstwhile Hyderabad State, September 17 is officially celebrated and since the entire Telangana was under the ‘tyrannical’ rule of the Nizam, the day should be celebrated officially on a grand scale.
Successive governments of the Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in undivided Andhra Pradesh and after the formation of the Telangana state, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government ignored the demands for officially celebrating the day to avoid any controversy.
Muslim groups have been opposing any celebrations as they claim that Muslims were massacred during the ‘police action’.
The Congress, TDP, TRS, Left parties and other groups celebrate September 17 as Telangana merger day by hoisting the national flag. They refrain from calling it liberation day.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) maintains that there is only one Independence Day for the entire country and hence there is no need for separate celebrations in Telangana.
