HYDERABAD: Differences in the BJP’s Nizamabad district unit came to the fore on Wednesday with a group of around 100 party leaders from various mandals of the district holding a flash protest at the party headquarters in Hyderabad and shouting slogans against Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri.
The BJP party office was rocked by the noisy protests by party leaders from four Assembly constituencies falling in Nizamabad district. They were demanding action against Arvind alleging that he had his followers appointed as presidents of 13 mandal BJP units by replacing long-time and sincere party workers who were holding the posts. This, they alleged, Arvind did by forcing the district party president B Laxmi Narasaiah to do his bidding.
Arvind, meanwhile in Delhi, said he had nothing to do with the appointments and that it was a party decision taken by the district party leadership.
The protesters who squatted in the entrance lobby of the party office and shouted slogans against Arvind, initially refused to listen to the pleas of party secretary Dr S Prakash Reddy to stop their protest and sloganeering after which they can present their case to the state BJP president G Kishan Reddy who was in the party office. After some heated arguments, the party leaders and workers from Balkonda, Armoor, Bodhan, and Nizamabad Rural Assembly constituencies relented and some of them met with Kishan Reddy to put their side of the story to him.
However, Kishan Reddy gave them a dressing down and made it clear that protests like the one they held will not be tolerated and that any problem or issue party leaders or workers have, can be communicated to the party leadership which will look into the issue and take action as required.
It was on July 24 that Arvind tweeted about the appointment of new BJP presidents for 13 mandals in Nizamabad district, setting off a chain of events that began with local protests that culminated in the demonstration at the party headquarters on Wednesday.
