Saga of Congress leaders' arrests continues in Telangana

HYDERABAD: The saga of arrests of the Congress leaders continued as senior members of the party were taken into police custody or placed under house arrest at various places in Telangana ahead of their visit to the pending irrigation project on Godavari river on Saturday.
AICC secretaries V Hanumanth Rao, S A Sampath Kumar, TPCC working presidents Ponnam Prabhakar and J Vasanth Kumar, CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka, MLA D Anasuya (Sitakka), former minister Mohd Ali Shabbir were a few arrested. Police started placing many of the Congress members under house arrest since Friday midnight itself.
These arrests came a day after Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president and Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar shot off a letter to director general of police mahender reddy to stop harassing the Congress members and allow them to visit irrigation project sites. He also sought to assure the DGP that Congress members would follow physical distance and mask norms.
“We were arrested on June 2 ahead of our protest programme at irrigation project sites on Krishna river, Later, on June 11, we were arrested after giving a call for Chalo Secretariat. The police are not taking action against chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his ministers and TRS leaders who are freely moving and participating even in congregations in violation of physical distance and mask norms. This is a murder of democracy,” said TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy while registering a strong protest against dictatorial rule of KCR-led TRS government.
AICC secretary V Hanumanth Rao said CM KCR is worried that the failures of his government would be exposed if Congress members are allowed to visit the pending irrigation project sites and protest. “The ruling TRS is not leaving any option for us except going to the Court to get permission to hold a protest. The KCR government is unleashing the police force to crush any voice of dissent against the TRS government,” he said.
Several Congress leaders squatted on the road and in front of police stations insisting that they be allowed to go to the project sites on Godavari river. However, the police took them to police stations where the Congress members continued their protest.
Referring to chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's surprise inspection visit to Kondapochamma Sagar project on Friday evening, TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said whie KCR himself goes to irrigation project sites when ever he wants, the Congress members are now allowed despite informing the police about the programme in advance. "Telangana police is repeatedly violating the privileges of Congress MPs, MLAs and MLCs and warned that they would take up the issue with the presiding officer of the parliament, council and assembly," Uttam said.