HYDERABAD: TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud has revealed that plans are afoot to organise a massive rally in Hyderabad on the lines of the one held in New Delhi by the All India Congress Committee seeking a halt to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
During an informal chat with reporters at Gandhi Bhavan here, Mahesh said that the state unit of the grand old party is planning to mobilise around two lakh people for the protest rally. Stating that the proposed rally would begin at the Indira Gandhi statue and proceed towards the Parade Grounds, the TPCC chief said that the event date has not yet been finalised. “The date, route and other details will be finalised after consultations with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy after the Dasara festivities.”
Mahesh also rejected allegations that women journalists were attacked during the Delhi rally led by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, terming them “false and frivolous accusations”.
He also rejected claims that Rahul Gandhi had pushed Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar during the same rally, stating that he was instead asked to move back.
“The video footage clearly shows what had actually happened. People should examine the visuals before drawing conclusions,” he said.
Slamming the Delhi police for de-notifying and removing Jantar Mantar as a designated site for public protests and demonstrations, he asserted that the Congress will not remain silent if the right to express dissent is curtailed, and it will take the protests to that very same venue.
Recalling how former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao banned all protests at Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad, he said: “The BRS subsequently lost power in Telangana. The BJP too will lose power at the Centre.”
On the recent TGSRTC elections and the defeat of Congress-backed unions, he said: “The RTC union elections were conducted with the objective of strengthening the organisation and ensuring justice for workers. Elections were not contested on party symbols. There were several reasons for the defeat and that the outcome should be viewed in the broader context of the union elections.”
The TPCC chief, meanwhile, said that a series of meetings will be held to finalise preparations for the upcoming graduates’ MLC elections. A meeting with the chief minister is scheduled at the Bodhi Pavilion in MCR HRD Institute, he added.