Hyderabad, December 16: Tension prevailed at the State Secretariat when the TDP MLAs and MLCs from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions staged dharna in front of the Chief Minister’s Office in the C-Block demanding withdrawal of police forces from the universities in non-Telangana districts. They left the place only after Chief Minister K Rosaiah assured to withdraw the forces and order investigation into the incident.
Nearly 15 TDP MLAs and MLCs arrived at the Secretariat and paid floral tributes to Potti Sriramulu in front of the Secretariat commemorating his death anniversary. Later, they headed for J-Block inside the State Secretariat to meet Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy. Learning that the Home Minister was unavailable, the TDP representatives marched towards the C-block to meet the Chief Minister.
However, the security personnel prevented them from entering the Chief Minister’s office. The TDP leaders raised slogans against the Chief Minister and Home Minister and staged a dharna in front of the C-Block. With the situation turning tense, the police arrested them. Later, the Chief Minister met them and they submitted a representation demanding withdrawal of forces from all the universities and also call back Inspector General of Police Charu Sinha who has been posted as special officer at SKU immediately.
Speaking to mediapersons after meeting the Chief Minister, TDP MLA Payyavula Keshav said that the Government has deployed Central forces in various universities in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. He demanded the Government to withdraw all the forces immediately from these universities and condemned the police lathicharge on students in Sri Krishnadevaraya University this morning.
He alleged that the Home Minister was showing regional discrimination and pointed out that she threatened to resign protesting police lathicharge on students of Osmania University, but kept mum on the lathicharge on students of Sri Krishna Devaraya University.
Rosaiah is learnt to have assured them to withdraw the police forces from all the Universities and also call back IGP Charu Sinha immediately.
TDP MLAs Gali Muddu Krishnamanaidu, Dhulipala Narender, Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy, Hemalatha, K Srinivas Rao, Durga Prasad, Masthan Rao and others participated in the dharna.
–Agencies–