Tension at Gandhi Bhavan as cops arrest BJP leaders

​Hyderabad: Mild tension prevailed en route Gandhi Bhavan, the State Congress headquarters when several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and party workers tried to stage a protest before it as part of a nation-wide protest programme given by the BJP.

Party workers led by party MLA T Raja Singh, MLC and city president N Ramchander Rao, former MLA G Kishan Reddy have taken out a procession from the BJP State headquarters here on Tuesday, to stage a protest to press their demands for an apology from the Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and the party for conducting malicious propaganda on the Rafale deal.

Addressing the media, Ramachandra Rao and Kishan Reddy alleged the grand old party and its president are trying to mislead and provoke people with baseless accusations against the centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the procurement of Rafale combat aircraft. The leaders said that the nation-wide protest was being organised to highlight the evil political designs of the Congress and its president's trying to malign Prime Minister and his government. That apart, it was also to give the correct details of the whole issue to the people and press for an apology from Rahul Gandhi, to the nation and Modi, the BJP leaders said.

Kishan Reddy said despite the Supreme Court nailed the allegations of the Congress and its president in its recent verdict on the Rafale deal, “the party and its president continuing their propaganda at the cost of national security for political gains and organising activates inimical to the unity and integrity of the country, as well as lowering the dignity of the legislature,” they alleged.

Tension prevailed as soon as the police stopped the BJP leaders and party workers a few yards from the BJP State headquarters after they have taken out a rally to proceed towards Gandhi Bhavan, to organise dharna. Police stopped them from further proceeding to the Gandhi Bhavan resulting in tension and the protesters were arrested and sent to various police stations in the city.

Condemning the arrests the party later in the evening demanded the unconditional release of those arrested and take action against the Congress for provoking people with its misleading campaign staking the national security. BJP city president and MLC N Ramchander Rao, Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh, former MLAs G Kishan Reddy, Chintala Ramchander Reddy, Ch Samba Murthy, R Sridhar Reddy, Jawaharlal Verma, T Uma Mahindra, T Rajasekhar Reddy, N Gowtham, G Raman Gowd, Ale Jithender, A Ramakrishna, K Asharam Soni, David Andrews Xavier were among those arrested.