Tags:
Journalism of Courage
HYDERABAD, JULY 31: The picketing programme by the main Opposition Congress against the power tariff-hike turned violent, after Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) chief M Satyanarayana Rao got injured in stone-pelting by miscreants in Warangal town, when he alongwith six local Congress MLAs, were arrested today.
Police said Rao was participating in picketing, alongwith the party MLAs and workers in front of the collectorate’s office, when some unidentified persons hurled stones.
The APCC Chief was rushed to a private hospital, police said adding that efforts were on to trace the culprits.
However, Congress leaders alleged that Rao was attacked by members of the `Telugu Sena’, a body of volunteers being formed by the ruling TDP to conduct party programmes.
Earlier Rao and six party MLAs — P Lakshmaiah, N Rajalingam, B Saraiah, Reddaiah Naik, P Veeraiah and K Surekha– were arrested for picketing, defying prohibitory orders.
Led by Rao, the Congress workers picketed for over two hours before the collectorate office as part of the state-wide agitation against the hike and the Government’s `failure’ to heed to the opposition call for withdrawal of the hike by July 31.
Both Congress and Left parties had earlier decided to intensify the on-going agitation against revision of power-tariff by the Government in June, if the ruling TDP does not relent to their demands and had set July 31 as the deadline.
The picketing programme near Hyderabad collectorate was deferred to August 2 in view of Bonalu, a local festival. However, Congress workers, led by party spokesman K Keshava Rao and Left parties workers, staged a dharna before the Ranga Reddy district collectorate as police kept a tight vigil.
Meanwhile, condemning the attack, APCC spokesman K Keshava Rao said here that members of `Telugu Sena’ were behind the attack.
However, a spokesman of the police department denied the involvement of Telugu Sena in the incident. He sought to clarify that an unidentified person from the crowd hit the Congress leader. A probe was being ordered to ferret out the truth, he added.
He said the picketing programme organised throughout the State was a success as scores of partymen and people voluntarily partcipated in it.
