Hyderabad, December 28: Tension prevailed at Gun park near Assembly when city police arrested leaders and activists of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) after they tried to stage protests against each other over the Telangana issue here today. A large number of activists led by Telangana Telugu Desam Party (TTDP) forum and TRS leaders separately reached at the Telangana Martyrs Memorial at Gun Park near state assembly to launch a fast over Telangana issue but their bid was foiled by the police by arresting the leaders and activists from both parties. Police arrested senior Telangana TDP leader Motkupalli Narasimhulu minutes before he was to begin his two-day fast in protest against TRS Chief K Chandrasekhar Rao s reported surrender to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the issue of Telangana. As soon as Narasimhulu arrived at the venue along with senior TDP leader Errabelli Dayakara Rao and scores of party supporters in the morning, police, who had assembled in large numbers, took him into custody. Other TDP leaders and workers were also taken into custody. Mr Narasimhulu has recently turned very aggressive in his verbal attacks on KCR saying that the TRS chief has sold himself out to the Congress leadership. Earlier, hundreds of TRS supporters, who reached the Gun Park raised slogans against Motkupalli Narasimhulu, also performed a milky bath to the martyrs memorial. On the other hand, TRS, who described TDP as the main hurdle in formation of a separate state, has been staging protests during Naidu s Rytha Poru yatra to Telangana, saying he had no moral right to visit the region after opposing separate statehood. Apprehending law and order problem, police arrested TRS and Telangana TDP leaders and also activists from both parties and shifted them to a police station.
—-Agencies