BJP men try to barge into Golconda fort, held

“We have booked a case against these two party workers,under Section 2 of Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. These two persons were found pulling out the flags from their pants near the zip. We suspect that they concealed it inside their underwear,” said West Zone DCP V. Satyanarayana.

The two pretended to be tourists and got inside the fort. Though the police checked them, nothing was found in their pockets, and they were let in. Once they entered, they took the flags out and tried to hoist them, said the cops.

West Zone police booked another case against BJP member and corporator Ale Jitendra for disrespecting the flag. “In a scuffle with security personnel, he pulled and dragged the national flag after which it got mutilated. We have booked a case against him under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act,” said Mr Satyanarayana. The police has also videotaped the act of the corporator.

The city police arrested more than 180 BJP activists including top leaders in order to prevent them from entering the fort. Telangana BJP president G. Kishan Reddy, Secunderabad MP Bandaru Dattatreya, MLAs N.V.S.S. Prabhakar, Dr K. Lakshman, Chintala Ramchandra Reddy and Raja Singh were also arrested.

Earlier, the BJP had given a call to celebrate Liberation Day and had demanded that the Telangana state government make it an official celebration. However, the government had not given the nod.

The Archeological Survey of India had denied permission to the BJP workers for hoisting the flag, after which a huge police force was deployed in and around the fort.

Mr Kishan Reddy condemned the arrest of BJP leaders and workers, and criticised the Telangana government for not celebrating the Liberation day. He alleged that the TRS government was acting at the behest of the MIM and for the same reason it did not celebrate Liberation Day. He said that the Telangana government should emulate the Karnataka and Maharashtra governments, which had organised official functions on Tuesday to mark the occasion.

Meanwhile, the TRS termed the BJP’s actions a big drama aimed at creating communal tension with an eye on the GHMC polls and to gain politically by dividing people on communal lines. MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi questioned the need for the celebration and accused communal forces of trying to make a political event of the occasion.

“For the TRS and Telangana, June 2 is the real independence day. Though Hyderabad was merged with the Indian Union on September 17, 1948, Telangana continued in Andhra. BJP is playing a drama and is dividing people for political gains,” said TRS MLC and politburo member Karne Prabhakar.

“BJP’s attempts to divide people will fail miserably. They have been taught a bitter lesson in the 2014 general elections and in the recent Medak Lok Sabha bypoll. People have rejected the BJP,” he added.