With the police blocking many roads in the wake of TJAC’s Chalo Assembly protest, pro-Telangana parties took the fight into the state Assembly. TRS, BJP, CPI and TDP Telangana Forum members stalled the House proceedings, demanding release of all their leaders and activists arrested by the police.
As soon as Speaker N Manohar adjourned the House, TRS members came out and started raising anti-Congress slogans. They burnt the effigy of chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy at the entrance of the Assembly lobby and raised slogans against the chief minister. Later, under the leadership of T Harish Rao, the TRS members staged a dharna in front of gate I of the Assembly, from where the chief minister, Speaker and ministers enter Assembly. Some members lay down on the road leading to the gate, while others tried to open it even as a huge contingent of police was deployed there.
Avoiding the TRS members, the chief minister quietly left the Assembly through gate II. Even the Speaker and ministers were forced to take the same gate.
Congress and TDP leaders from the Seemandhra region left the Assembly as soon as it was adjourned. There was speculation that Congress leaders from Telangana might stage some kind of a protest or at least raise their voices in support of Telangana. However, no such thing happened and they vanished from the scene silently.
As soon as the chief minister and ministers left the Assembly premises, marshals and police arrested the agitating TRS legislators and bundled them into the police van waiting outside gate I. They were shifted to Golkonda police station. While most of the TRS leaders offered only token resistance and got into the bus quietly, police had to struggle to get Harish Rao into the vehicle. He was physically carried to the police van.
Once the TRS members were arrested, police shifted their attention to BJP, CPI and four TRS members, who were agitating near gate II. BJP MLAs G Kishan Reddy, E Lakhsminarayana and Y Srinivas, party associate member Nagam Janardhan Reddy, CPI member K Sambasiva Rao, TRS members E Rajender and Harishwar Reddy, and others were taken into custody.
Meanwhile, TRS members Vinay Bhaskar and K Sambaiah climbed on the terrace of the CLP building, giving anxious moments to the marshals and the police. Around 10.30 am, both the leaders climbed the CLP building, which also houses TRS legislative party office, and started waving a black flag in protest against the government’s attitude towards Telangana. It all came to an end after about an hour with marshals and police arresting them and bringing them down from the building.
In between, the TDP Telangana Forum MLAs, led by M Narshimulu, came out of the House holding placards in support of Telangana state. TDP members including woman legislators were arrested when they tried to go in a procession from gate II.
Narshimulu blamed the chief minister for the present situation and demanded that he should prevail upon the Centre to pass the Telangana bill in Parliament.
By noon, the Assembly premises wore a deserted look with only security personnel and mediapersons presen t.
