Hyderabad: Congress leaders and workers on Saturday staged a satyagraha at the party state headquarters here after the police denied them permission to take out a rally to mark the party’s 135th Formation Day.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy termed police commissioner Anjani Kumar an agent of the RSS and of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for the denial of permission.
MR Reddy said, “Under the leadership of the RSS agent commissioner Anjani Kumar, the RSS held a march past day the before yesterday with lathis and horses from LB Nagar to Saroornagar and a video of it was released but he has denied permission to the Congress to carry out a peaceful rally ‘Save India, Save Constitution’. He should consider putting KPS (Kalvakuntla Police Service) as his epaulette rather than IPS.”
The Congress had planned a rally from Gandhi Bhavan to Lower Tank Bund Road, but the police denied permission. In response, Congress leaders decided to sit on a satyagraha for 24 hours.
A large number of police personnel were deployed near Gandhi Bhavan. Congress workers were not allowed to leave the headquarters. Groups of them came out raising slogans against the police and some of them were taken into custody.
Speaking after hoisting the party flag, Mr Reddy slammed the TRS government for denying permission to hold the ‘Save India’ rally while allowing a parade by the ‘communal’ RSS three days ago.
He strongly condemned Mr Anjani Kumar not only for denying them permission for the rally but also for arresting thousands of Congress workers to prevent them from participating in the satyagraha at Gandhi Bhavan.
Accusing the TRS government of insulting the Congress which brought independence to the country and created Telangana state, Mr Reddy said permission was first denied and they were told that the proposed route was ‘non-notified’ and an ‘arterial road’ and there could be a disturbance to the law and order situation.
He then claimed that the Congress gave another letter asking permission to take out a silent rally on any route from Gandhi Bhavan. Even that request was rejected and police officials did not allow party workers to participate in the satyagraha at Gandhi Bhavan.
Mr Reddy said the police could vacate roads for the RSS march and permit the MIM to hold a public meeting at Darussalaam but it had problems giving permission to the Congress. He said the Congress would not tolerate this insult and take up the issue with Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. He said that the commissioner acted on the instructions of Mr Chandrasekhar Rao, and did not follow the law.
Mr Reddy called upon people to unite against the BJP’s communal plans of dividing the country on the basis of religion. The BJP government at the Centre was pursuing the Hindutva agenda and was politicising issues like the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register of Citizens, National Population Register, triple talaq, Article 370, construction of Ram mandir. He warned that the implementation of CAA would turn the Muslims in India into second grade citizens. NRC and NPR would prove dangerous for the survival of democracy in India.
He said that the Congress had ruled the country for nearly 50 years and it always took everyone along. He said the Congress has always fought against communal forces and it would continue do to so. For the same reason, the Congress had launched the nation-wide 'Save India, Save Constitution' drive, but the TRS government prevented the party from taking out a peaceful tiranga rally, using the police.
He called upon the people of the nation to support the Congress fight against the BJP’s “nefarious plan to divide the nation on the lines of religion.” Alleging that the ruling TRS is also playing to the tune of the BJP, he gave the call of “BJP se desh ko bachao, TRS se Telangana ko bachao”.
The TPCC president said that the TRS has no right to seek votes from the people in the forthcoming municipal elections. He said the TRS government did not provide unemployment allowance to a single youth and did not waive crop loans as promised.
The Rythu Bandhu scheme was not implemented properly. Mr Rao has been cheating the people of Telangana since 2014.
Mr Reddy pointed out promises like 12 per cent reservation for Muslims and STs, three acres of land for Dalits and Girijans and double bedroom houses for weaker sections remained unfulfilled. Mr Rao has repeatedly cheated the people and he must be taught a lesson in the municipal elections, he said.
