HYDERABAD : The Hyderabad city police have refused permission for the Shobha Yatra, drawing a sharp reaction from the BJP’s Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh.
Undeterred by the denial of permission, Raja Singh declared that he would proceed with the procession at 12 noon. “Nobody can stop me,” he posted on X (formerly twitter).
“It was foreseen that if the Congress comes into power, Hindus will be oppressed, backed by the police. We have seen cases being registered in Kerala and Karnataka during Hindu festivals, pressure on the organisers, and fake cases against them,” he tweeted.
Raja Singh also questioned the last-minute decision by the authorities.
In a video statement on the platform, the MLA said that he had applied for permission 40 days prior to the event, only to receive a letter from the police commissioner the night before, declining permission for the procession.
“Today, at 8:30 pm on April 16, I received a letter rejecting permission for this year’s Shri Ram Navami procession. What’s alarming is that the letter was dated April 14, leaving us with insufficient time to address this issue. For years, our procession has been a symbol of devotion, drawing lakhs of Ram Bhakts from across the nation and Telangana. It’s disheartening to witness such a sudden and unjustified obstruction to our Hindu freedom. We anticipated such actions from the current Congress government, following in the footsteps of KCR, and ignoring Hindu sentiments. But....Jai Shri Ram?????? #SriRamNavami (sic),” he tweeted.
HC leaves route to police
Earlier on Tuesday, the Telangana High Court had directed the police to grant permission to the Hanuman Yuva Sangathan to take out the Shobha Yatra as per the route proposed by the authorities.