Congress slams cases against protesters

Hyderabad: The City Congress on Monday strongly condemned the City police for booking cases against the people who held peaceful protest against the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act).

The Hyderabad City Congress Committee (HCCC) Minorities Department chairman Sameer Waliullah, in a media statement on Monday said, although the protest was totally peaceful, police resorted to brutal lathicharge which caused serious injuries to many protestors. "Police has unleashed terror on protestors which included a majority of women. This is nothing but an attempt to suppress the voice of common people and prevent them from exercising their Freedom of Expression," he said.

The Congress leader also pointed out that similar strategy of lathicharge and detention was used by the police to foil peaceful protest at Mehdipatnam two days ago. "It is strange that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao calls himself secular and pro-minorities while the police under his government brutally assaults minorities, illegally detain them and implicate them in false cases. While we all know that TRS is a secret ally of BJP since beginning, CM KCR must speak out his stand on implementation of CAA and NRC in Telangana," he demanded.

Sameer Waliullah said that the Telangana police gave permission to RSS march and public meeting in Saroornagar. But it denied permission to Congress party to hold Tiranga Yatra against the CAA and NRC on December 28. Hyderabad Police registered more than 25 cases against the organisers of Million March despite giving them permission.

"TRS Government, in connivance with BJP and MIM, is selectively targetting activists and leaders who are opposing CAA and NRC," he alleged. He also pointed out that police has been giving permission to BJP to hold rallies and meetings in favour of CAA. "What makes police officials assume that an anti-CAA protest might be violent and pro-CAA protest would be peaceful? There has been no single incident of violence in any of the protest held against the CAA and NRC. Therefore, senior police officials should change their attitude and start functioning as per rules and not as per their pre-assumptions," he said.

He demanded that the Chief Minister immediately intervene into the issue and order withdrawal of all cases registered in connection with protests against CAA and NRC. He also demanded that the Chief Minister clarify his stand on CAA, NRC and NPR.