SIDDIPET: Tension prevailed at Erravalli in Siddipet district on Tuesday when Congress and BRS workers clashed after the ruling party cadre tried to stage protests at the farmhouse of former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Trouble began when Congress workers — responding to a call given by Satish Madiga to lay siege to the farmhouse if BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao failed to apologise for the “derogatory” remarks made by his party MLC Tata Madhu against Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar — gathered in Erravalli and started raising slogans against BRS leaders. BRS workers, who had also reached the village early in the day, tried to counter them, leading to chaotic scenes. The situation soon escalated into a full-blown battle between the two groups as they started attacking each other. They also burnt effigies.
Police personnel, who were deployed in large numbers in the village, had to resort to lathi-charge on several occasions. Police also detained several protesters in an attempt to bring the situation under control.
Earlier, hundreds of Congress workers from various villages in the Gajwel and Bhongir constituencies marched towards Erravalli. Beating drums and raising slogans against BRS leaders, they managed to breach the two-tier security arrangements made in the village and almost reached the farmhouse. The police, who had set up a heavy security cordon about 500 metres from the farmhouse, prevented them from advancing further.
Several clashes were also witnessed elsewhere in the erstwhile Nalgonda district. At Damarakunta village, BRS cadre tried to stop Congress workers from across the Bhongir constituency from proceeding towards Erravalli, leading to a tense situation. The two groups pelted stones at each other and also burnt effigies of KCR and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
BRS workers, meanwhile, observed Rythu Deeksha and staged protests across the Gajwel constituency. Police took several BRS members into custody and also placed several party leaders under house arrest.
Similar protests by Congress and BRS workers were witnessed in the erstwhile Medak district. In Patancheru, the two parties staged rallies at the main junction on the Hyderabad-Mumbai National Highway.
Polytechnic college students, who are opposing the move to merge polytechnic education with the Intermediate Board, too joined the protest, bringing traffic to a standstill on the national highway for nearly an hour.