HYDERABAD: Telangana BJP Chief N Ramchander Rao was placed under house arrest late on Saturday night as a preventive measure ahead of his proposed visit to Kamareddy scheduled for Sunday, February 22.
Speaking over the phone, Rao said, "Police have placed me under house arrest tonight."
Tensions escalated in Kamareddy after what was described as a “ghastly attack” by alleged Congress workers on the camp office of BJP MLA Katipalli Venkata Ramana Reddy. Rao had planned to visit Banswada to meet those injured in the stone-pelting incident.
On February 20 and 21, violent clashes erupted between BJP and Congress workers in Kamareddy town. The unrest was reportedly triggered by a dispute over land belonging to the Government Degree College. BJP MLA Katipalli Venkata Ramana Reddy alleged that Congress leaders were attempting to illegally sell or misuse the land, specifically naming Shabbir Ali.
During protests on Saturday, a vehicle belonging to a Congress leader was overturned, and stones were allegedly thrown, resulting in injuries to several party workers and police personnel.
The BJP’s Telangana unit also condemned the arrest of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leaders who were planning to stage a protest against the alleged misconduct of Youth Congress workers during the India AI Global Summit in New Delhi.
Rao accused the Congress of attempting to impose “Sharia law” and neglecting the interests of citizens. He questioned the intentions of the Congress-led government, asking whether it was willing to stand with the people.
He further alleged that preventing him from meeting victims of violence sent a clear message that the government would not allow the Opposition to support affected citizens. Rao later confirmed over the phone that he had been placed under house arrest at his residence in Tarnaka.
Other senior BJP leaders, including Union Minister Bandi Sanjay, have called the state government's tactics "dictatorial" and an attempt to cover up political failures.
Telangana BJP Chief Ramchander Rao on Tuesday expressed happiness over the party's performance in the recent state civic polls, stating that for the first time it has been able to secure both mayor and deputy mayor positions in a municipal corporation.
Rao emphasised that the BJP has emerged as the single largest party in Adilabad, Kamareddy, and Nizamabad, and also attacked the opposition, stressing that they came together to defeat the BJP.
"For the first time in Telangana, the BJP has clinched a municipal corporation in Karimnagar, capturing both the mayor and deputy mayor posts... In most municipal parties, such as Adilabad, Kamareddy, and Nizamabad, where the BJP is the single largest party, the Congress, BRS, and AIMIM came together to defeat the BJP. Similarly, in 15 smaller municipalities, the BJP is the single largest party... We are happy that the Telangana people have given us a good number of wards," Ramchander Rao told ANI.
BJP candidate KolagSrinivas was elected as the Mayor of Karimnagar Municipal Corporation on Monday.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other BJP leaders felicitated him at the Municipal Office in Karimnagar following his victory in the civic polls held on February 11. The elections were conducted across seven Municipal Corporations and 116 Municipalities in the state.
Polling covered 414 wards in the Municipal Corporations of Kothagudem, Karimnagar, Mahabubnagar, Mancherial, Nizamabad, Nalgonda and Ramagundam, along with 2,582 wards across the 116 municipalities.
Meanwhile, the Congress emerged as a major force in the Telangana municipal corporation elections, while the Bharat Rashtra Samithi secured the second position.
(With agency inputs)