At least 25 people were injured, four of them seriously, when a temporary tent collapsed due to gale during an election meeting in Parkal assembly constituency here on Sunday.
The tent collapsed minutes before Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy was to address the gathering at Gudepad in Parkal assembly segment. While Information Technology Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah was addressing the meeting, a strong gale uprooted the tent’s ropes resulting in its immediate collapse. Nearly 3,000 people were seated when the incident happened. However, the security personnel protected the dais where the Chief Minister, Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana, ministers and MLAs were seated.
The incident led to the abrupt conclusion of the meeting without the speeches of Chief Minister and PCC president. However, later talking to reporters Kiran Kumar Reddy described the collapse of tent as a minor incident and refused to accept the same as a bad omen. He said even the nature could not prevent the Congress party from winning the by-elections.
The Chief Minister said that people would vote for the Congress party for the development and welfare schemes being implemented by the State Government. He said the State Government has been spending nearly Rs 26,000 crore on different schemes to benefit lakhs of families across the State. He said the regional and communal politics of TRS and BJP would not last longer. He also clarified that the by-elections would not be a referendum on his government.
Despite trying to present a brave picture, the Chief Minister was visibly upset over the collapse of tent during the election meeting. A few minutes later, his helicopter developed a technical snag and his journey to Hyderabad was delayed by 15 minutes.
Earlier, tension prevailed in Parkal constituency following the arrest of pro-Telangana activists by the Warangal district police. Nearly 300 people were taken into preventive custody by the police in view of the Chief Minister’s visit. The TRS MLAs – Etela Rajender, Vinay Bhaskar and T Rajaiah along with their supporters staged a protest before the Police Headquarters demanding release of all the activists. (INN)