HYDERABAD: In an apparent bid to make their voice heard to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, at least seven activists of a Dalit outfit, Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti (MRPS), stormed the State Congress headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan, at Nampally on Saturday and set on fire the building.
But the MRPS men succeeded only in causing minor damage to the decades old structure. About six persons, including two MRPS workers, suffered burns in the incident. A clear failure on the part of the State Intelligence wing and Special Branch was evident with the MRPS ‘mission’ appearing to unfold as planned. The condition of four of them is said to be critical.
As Sonia Gandhi began her speech at the parade grounds, about seven MRPS workers scaled the compound wall of the Gandhi Bhavan, with one of them carrying a can full of kerosene. The Special Police Officers (SPOs) tried to prevent them, but they threw the kerosene inside the Gandhi Bhavan and set it on fire. Policemen and a fire tender arrived soon and extinguished the flames.
One of the SPOs, K Sambasiva Raju, and an attender, Deepak, suffered severe burns while others escaped with minor burns. Angry Congress workers raised slogans against the MRPS and demanded arrest of its chief Manda Krishna Madiga.
Meanwhile, about 30 woman MRPS activists disrupted Sonia Gandhi’s public meeting at the parade grounds. They were bundled off from the venue but not before giving some anxious moments to Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.