Opposition parties stage protest over Bayyaram steel plant

Mahabubabad: Tension prevailed here on Tuesday as hundreds of protestors tried to lay seize to the District Collector’s office, demanding the Centre to set up steel plant at Bayyaram.

The leaders and workers of Congress, TDP, CPI, CPIM, CPI (ML) New Democracy, Telangana JAC and TJS under the banner of ‘Bayyaram Ukku Parishrama Sadhana Committee’ have taken out a protest rally from Gandhi Park area to the collectorate.

Former union minister P Balram Naik, MLC Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, the committee convener Gouni Ilaiah, CPI district secretary B Vijayasarathi and its leader B Ajay, J Bharath Chander Reddy, G Dasru Naik of Congress, Sadula Srinivas of CPM, B Pullaiah of TDP and others took part in the rally.

The police, who were present in huge numbers, tried to prevent the protestors from reaching the collectorate but failed to do so in view of the strength of the protestors.

At one time the police and the protestors jostled with each other and it led to tension and many protestors were injured. Then the police have arrested over 200 leaders and workers of different parties and taken them to different police stations.

The District Superintendent of Police later in the evening released a list of 56 leaders, who were booked in a crime number 225/2018 for staging protest and for trying to barge into the collectorate. Balram Naik, Sudhakar Reddy, Ilaiah, Vijayasarathi, Chander Reddy and Dasru Naik were among them.

Speaking to the press on the occasion, the leaders demanded the State government to initiate immediate measures to set up steel plant at Bayyaram. They accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and the TRS government in the State of plotting to handover the mineral wealth at Bayyaram to private sector.

The Centre was ignoring the clause (13) in the AP Reorganisation Act, through which the UPA government promised to set up steel plant in Telangana. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao colluded with the Centre undermining the interests of the people in the State, Balram Naik alleged.

The State government was trying to suppress the public movement using police power, complained Ilaiah and Vijayasarathi. The TRS government must understand it could not restrain public and series of protests would continue until the steel plant was set up.