The Telangana Police on Tuesday arrested Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) deputy leader in the assembly, T Harish Rao, and other senior party leaders as they were on their way to Parigi town in Vikarabad district to express solidarity with farmers protesting against land acquisition for setting up a proposed industrial zone.
Accompanied by former ministers P Sabitha Indra Reddy and Arabilly Dayakar Rao and several other BRS leaders, Harish Rao was leaving in a convoy of vehicles for Parigi, when they were intercepted at Narsingi and detained.
A tense situation prevailed at the Telangana Police Academy (TGPA) intersection, where hundreds of BRS leaders and workers staged a sit-in in protest against the arrest of Harish Rao and others.
The arrested leaders were taken to Shamshabad police station and detained there for a few hours before being released.
Earlier in the day, police kept several BRS leaders including Parigi MLA Koppula Mahesh Reddy and local leader Shubhaprad Patel under house arrest. They were later transferred to the local police station in Barigi.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for Parigi, Harish Rao claimed that the police also arrested the protesting farmers late on Monday night. He condemned the arrest of leaders of the BRS movement as well as farmers who were scheduled to hold protests against the acquisition of 1,200 acres of land for setting up a proposed industrial zone.
He claimed that “the government is forcefully seizing fertile lands under the pretext of industrial development, while suppressing opposition voices.”
He accused Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy of being obsessed with land and making large-scale acquisitions across the state including Lagachirla, Nadargul and Barigi.
In a statement, BRS working president KT Rama Rao described the arrest of Harish Rao and others as an act of cowardice. He accused the government of using police force to crush opposition. “Silencing opposition voices through coercion is nothing less than killing democracy,” he said.
Meanwhile, senior Congress MLA representing Parigi constituency P Rammohan Reddy said nearly 60% of the 1,200 acres of land proposed to be developed as an industrial park was government land and only 40% of the land was acquired from local farmers.
“The government has offered good compensation to farmers under the Land Acquisition Act. No injustice will be done to any farmer,” Reddy said.
