SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: Tempers flared outside the Telangana Assembly on Monday, September 7, after police stopped Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR), former minister T Harish Rao and several other party legislators from entering the premises for the Monsoon Session, triggering scuffles that left multiple leaders and staff with minor injuries.
The BRS leaders arrived at the Assembly wearing black T-shirts printed with slogans such as “Congress failure in implementing guarantees” and “1,000 days of rule are a failure,” marking 1,000 days of the Congress government in the state. Police told them they could not enter wearing T-shirts carrying political messages, setting off jostling and heated arguments at the gate.
KTR and former minister G Jagadish Reddy sustained minor injuries in the scuffle, the party said. Women legislators were also allegedly pushed aside by police; Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) V Sunitha Laxma Reddy alleged she was trampled on the feet, while KTR’s public relations officer, Mahesh, was also hurt, according to the BRS.
Harish Rao, the BRS Legislature Party’s deputy leader, removed his T-shirt after being denied entry and demanded to be let in to raise public issues in the House. He was arrested along with KTR and other leaders and moved to local police stations and Telangana Bhavan. BRS members who arrived in regular clothing were allowed inside without obstruction.
Party leaders including Talasani Srinivas Yadav, P Sabitha Indra Reddy, Kova Lakshmi and Madhavaram Krishna Rao staged a sit-in at the Assembly lobby entrance to protest the police action against their colleagues.
Speaking to reporters, KTR questioned why BRS leaders were being stopped from wearing black T-shirts in the Telangana Assembly when Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had been allowed to do so inside Parliament. He accused the Congress government of coming to power on the back of 420 promises it pledged to fulfil within 100 days, none of which, he said, had been implemented even after 1,000 days in office.
The protest began earlier in the day at Gunpark, opposite the Assembly, where KTR said BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) had directed party leaders to press the government on its unfulfilled guarantees during the session regardless of pushback in the House.
The standoff at the Assembly gate caused a traffic snarl in the area lasting roughly 30 to 40 minutes as party workers and police personnel gathered at the spot.
SOURCE : SIASAT
