“War has begun, Kar Seva begins from Gurrambodu Thanda,” Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party chief Bandi Sanjay cried out at the mass gathering of party activists and aggrieved tribals of the thanda here on Sunday.
He said the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi has posted ‘encroacher-friendly’ officials in Mattampally mandal to grab lands allotted to tribals. And both TRS and Congress leaders have supported the encroachers, but the BJP will stand by tribal residents, he said.
Girijana Bharosa Yatra, the BJP’s first meeting in the State to address tribals and their issues, began at Gurrambodu thanda, a hot bed of land disputes between tribals and others. Hundreds of tribals and saffron leaders gathered for the meeting organised on the vast disputed land.
The meeting assumed much attention as just before the arrival of Mr. Sanjay, BJP legislators and others, violence broke out leading to high tension between police and locals-activists.
Both the sides received injuries, as the police resorted to lathicharge and the others retaliated by pelting stones and used sticks. The situation erupted as fence posts and metal shed of the claimant of the ‘disputed lands’ were destructed by the irate groups.
Mr. Sanjay addressing the charged gathering hit out at TRS and termed it “characterless and corrupt” for encouraging encroachments of tribal lands. On Pradesh Congress Committee Chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who was the erstwhile leader of Huzurnagar, he also commented that, “he was once a pilot, but now turned a driver of TRS”.
He said the BJP would stand by tribals and demanded the government that the lands be returned at the earliest.
Goshamahal legislator T. Raja Singh and Dubbak legislator Raghunandan Rao also said the police resorted to violence when BJP leaders were there to inspect the ground situation.
Film-star politician Vijayashanti observed that voting the TRS back to power was a mistake, as Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao remained silent while injustice against tribals continued, she said.
“Telangana will become a desert if he (CM KCR) is the CM for the next 10 years. Don’t remain innocent, fight back,” she told the gathering.
