HYDERABAD: Alleging that the central leadership of BJP is behind the Arya Vysya community members, who are hurling brickbats at him, BC activist and political thinker Kancha Ilaiah has accused saffron party of encouraging attacks on him as part of its vote-bank politics.
Ilaiah, who has been facing the wrath of Arya Vysyas for his controversial book, titled ‘Samajika Smugglarlu Komatollu’ (Vysyas: social smugglers), for the past fortnight, threw down the gauntlet at BJP national president Amit Shah, challenging him to hold a debate with him on the views expressed by him in his book. Earlier in the day, a tense situation prevailed at the residence of Ilaiah when some members of the Arya Vysya community tried to visit his house.
At the same time, a large number of Dalits and BCs too gathered at the writer’s residence, expressing solidarity with him.
Sensing a possible law and order problem, police officials deployed a huge contingent of force were deployed in and around the residence of Ilaiah. Police detained Arya Vysya community members, who were led by businessman Srinivas Gupta to meet Ilaiah. Police shifted all of them to the Amberpet police station.
OU police inspector V Ashok Reddy said they had taken 14 persons into custody for trying to barge into the residence of Ilaiah at Tarnaka.