Cops foil Opposition rally to Secretariat

Hyderabad: Intensifying their protest against the State government's plan of building a new Secretariat and Assembly, the opposition parties on Thursday organised a dharna and tried to take out a rally to Secretriat which was foiled by the police.

Police took the agitating leaders into preventive custody and released all of them after few hours.

Earlier, politicians and activists held a protest meeting at Dharna Chowk, Indira Park. Addressing the meeting, TJS chief Prof Kodandaram emphasized on upping the ante on this issue by involving people from all sections. Public money should be spent on the needs of people and not for luxurious purposes, he said.

Senior BJP leader D K Aruna lashed out at CM K Chandrashekar Rao for his unilateral decision to demolish Secretariat buildings. She warned that opposition parties would not relent until the government withdraws its plans which would only lead to waste of public money.

T TDP president L Ramana felt that demolishing structurally strong buildings to construct new ones was nothing but waste of public money. He felt there was some conspiracy going on to demolish heritage structures in the name of new constructions.

Another senior leader Ravula Chandrashekar Reddy said that the government was not in a position to answer questions raised by the High Court on this issue.

BJP senior leader Chintala Ramachandra Reddy warned the government that opposition's fight was not yet over, but it's just the beginning. Former MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy asked the government to come clean on new Secretariat plans and explain on whose insistence they took the decision.

TPCC spokesperson Addanki ­Dayakar lamented that there was no chance to hold even democratic protests in the new Telangana State, because of autocratic rule of the TRS government.

G Vivek, who conducted the protest felt that KCR's plan was to print his name on all things in Telangana and hence he was taking such decisions without involving anyone.

He informed that the Union Home Minister was made aware of this issue and was asked to intervene as the rights of Secretariat and Assembly buildings are with the Governor under Section 8.

After the dharna, leaders tried to hold a march from Indira Park to Secretariat but police prevented them. Vivek, Ramachandra Reddy and 30 others were shifted to Musheerabad police station.