Telangana Rashtra Samithi neta, aides give party a taste of ‘grand dissent’
HYDERABAD: Similar to Grand Alliance, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi too has been rocked by rebellion. On Tuesday, disgruntled MLA ticket aspirants and their supporters invaded Telangana Bhavan, the party’s headquarters in Banjara Hills, to vent their anger of denial of tickets.
The most high-profile protest was of Govardhan Reddy, the party’s in-charge for Khairatabad constituency. High drama ensued at Reddy’s house, where he got injured in a scuffle and fell unconscious.
The news of Reddy’s injury spread soon enough, leading to protests at several places in the city. Early in the day, hundreds of the TRS leader’s supporters gathered at his residence in Banjara Hills to extend him support and mount pressure on the party high command for the MLA ticket.
It is learnt that some of Reddy’s supporters planned to take out a massive rally to Telangana Bhavan or Pragathi Bhavan. As soon as the police got wind of this plan, a huge police force was deployed in advance to prevent the rally.
Govardhan’s wife Kavitha Govardhan Reddy, who is a GHMC corporator from Venkateswara Colony, alleged that the police did not allow her husband’s supporters into the house. “They cordoned the area with a rope and my husband had to step out to talk to them. But the police pushed him on the chest due to which he fell down with severe pain and high BP,” she said.
“We never expected this situation. We have been serving the party for close to a decade and fighting for the state under the leadership of K Chandrasekhar Rao. But the fact that someone who fought against the formation of Telangana and has just joined the party could be getting the ticket is unacceptable to us.
We are confident that the party will give the ticket to us. However, if the party gives the ticket to someone else, we will decide on the future course of action,” said Kavitha, clearly indicating her anger over rumours about former Congress leader Danam Nagender getting the Khairatabad ticket.Nagender is a former minister in united Andhra Pradesh and was a heavyweight in Congress. Recently, to the surprise of many, he defected to the ruling party. He has represented Khairatabad in the past.
As of going to print, it is reported that Goverdhan is under observation in a hospital. During the protests, one of Govardhan’s supporters, Satyanarayana, suffered a head injury in a scuffle and was administered with six stitches. He was later discharged from the hospital. Also, some of Reddy’s followers climbed a hoarding at Khairatabad, demanding a ticket for Reddy. They were later brought down to safety. Meanwhile, police denied the allegations saying that the force was deployed as a preventive measure.