Telangana BJP Chief Under House Arrest For Few Hours
In a video message, Ramchander Rao alleged that the shrine was brought down by revenue officials and locals had been demanding its reconstruction.
Hyderabad:The police on Tuesday placed the BJP’s state president N. Ramchander Rao under house arrest for a few hours at his residence in Tarnaka, allegedly to prevent him from visiting a site, where authorities had demolished a newly-extended portion of a roadside shrine in Banjara Hills. Several BJP corporators were also detained on Tuesday.
In a video message, Ramchander Rao alleged that the shrine was brought down by revenue officials and locals had been demanding its reconstruction. He strongly condemned the government’s action and expressed surprise at being detained over a non-political programme in which the BJP was not involved.
Ramchander Rao was also scheduled to participate in the party’s ‘Ghar Ghar Tiranga’ programme in the Secunderabad and Goshamahal constituencies.
In a statement, the BJP strongly condemned the house arrest, and accused the Congress government of political vendetta and warned of statewide protests if such actions continued.
Reacting from New Delhi, Union home minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged that it was attempting to woo a particular community ahead of the Jubilee Hills byelection.
Sanjay claimed that the state BJP chief was detained despite having no official programme to visit the shrine in Banjara Hills. He called the house arrest a “foolish” move and accused the government of playing politics with religious sentiments for electoral gains.
In a statement, party vice-president and MP D.K. Aruna said the obstruction of patriotic activities like the “Har Ghar Tiranga” campaign, and interference in religious ceremonies are “blatant acts of political cruelty by the Congress administration.”
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) criticised the state government for using police to suppress religious sentiments and arresting activists and political leaders from the BJP, Bajrang Dal, and VHP.
In a statement, VHP Prachara Pramukh Pagadakula Balaswamy alleged that the government was trying to appease a particular community for votes by targeting religious institutions and creating fear through false cases and illegal arrests. He accused the state government of attempting to revive the oppressive Nizam-era rule over Hindus.
