It was scuttled by the city police who obstructed it and took the party leaders into preventive custody
Former MP Anjan Kumar Yadav applies a spray on the hand of PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah who was injured when police foiled Congress march to Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad on Saturday. (Photo: DC/File)
Hyderabad: The Telangana Congress on Saturday found its ‘Maha Padayatra’ from Gandhi Bhavan to Raj Bhavan scuttled by the city police who obstructed it and took the party leaders into preventive custody.
TPCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah literally wept in public following an injury on his shoulder when he resisted the police. Nims doctors who treated him, said it was not a fracture, but only a sprain. Several bigwigs from the Telangana Congress gathered at Gandhi Bhavan and started moving towards the Raj Bhavan to protest the decision to shift the state Secret-ariat to Erragadda Chest Hospital and the existing hospital to Ananthagiri hillocks near Vikarabad.
The Congress leaders were joined by Opposition leader in Legislative Council D. Srinivas, senior MPs Gutta Sukhender Reddy, V. Hanumantha Rao, former Union minister Sarve Satyanarayana and others.
However when they reached Nampally which is just a few yards away from Gandhi Bhavan, the police blocked them citing security and traffic concerns. At this point, the Congress leaders tried to argue with the police and squatted on the road raising slogans against TRS government and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekar Rao for its undemocratic and unilateral decision of shifting the Secretariat and the hospital. After failing to convince the Congress leaders, police started picking up the leaders and workers in batches and sent them to Goshamahal grounds under Shahinathgunj police station limits.
When police tried to pick up the TPCC chief, he resisted, but was overpowered put in a van. In the melee he injured his right shoulder. The pain was so unbearable that he wept on reaching the Goshamahal grounds. He literally wept. Leader of Opposition in Assembly K. Janareddy reached the grounds and advised Ponnala to get admitted into a hospital. Ponnala then was rushed to NIMS where Doctors after attending to his injury declared it was only muscle sprain and not a fracture as was feared.
Several Congress leaders condemned the police action in foiling their Padayatra who said they will not rest till they stall the move to shift Secretariat and Chest hospital. They have also declared Congress will not keep quite and will resist all such anti-people measures taken by TRS government. They even announced protest rallies all over Telangana state on Sunday against the police highhandedness in foiling their padayatra.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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