ADILABAD: Tension peaked in the Kythanpally municipality in Mancherial district on Tuesday as leaders and activists of the BRS staged a violent protest, pelting stones and slippers at a vehicle carrying Labour and Mining Minister Gaddam Vivek and Peddapalli MP G Vamshi.
The incident occurred when the two Congress leaders were arriving at the Kythanpally municipal office to cast their ex-officio votes.
In the attack, the glass windows of the minister’s vehicle were shattered. Protestors also obstructed the vehicle, preventing it from moving forward. During the ensuing melee, at least five individuals, including a police constable, sustained injuries. They were initially shifted to a local hospital before being taken to Mancherial and subsequently to Hyderabad for further treatment.
In the wake of the high drama, officials were compelled to postpone the elections for the positions of chairperson and vice chairperson. Following the incident, political parties moved their councillors to camps, where they are being held in captivity until the elections for the leadership positions of the urban local body (ULB) are held.
The Kythanpally municipality comprises 22 municipal wards. The BRS secured 10 seats, the CPI won 4, Congress bagged 7, and one seat went to an Independent. With the BRS and CPI alliance holding a combined 14 seats, they hold the majority required to elect the chairperson and vice-chairperson.
With the inclusion of ex officio votes of Vivek, Vamshi and the support of the Independent councillor, the Congress’s strength effectively rose to 10.
Later speaking to the media, Vivek condemned the attack, stating, “for the past two and a half years, we have not used the police unnecessarily. Even the elections in the Chennur assembly constituency were held peacefully, and no complaints were received.”
He said that under the BRS’ previous tenure, how the ruling dispensation then had filed cases against the Congress activists. He criticised former MP and ex-MLA Balka Suman, urging him to behave like a politician and engage in politics constructively. The minister demanded that police take strict action against Suman.
In response, Suman alleged that the postponement of the chairman election was undemocratic, especially since the BRS and CPI alliance holds a clear majority of 14 councillors. He also claimed that Congress councillors misbehaved with their women counterparts in the presence of the minister and the MP.
Meanwhile, the Mancherial police have registered a case against Suman and several others in connection with the violence. A heavy police force has been deployed outside Suman’s residence as a precautionary measure.
NO ELECTION TILL MISSING COUNCILLOR IS PRODUCED: HC
Hyderabad: A bench of Telangana High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to produce ward councillor Akula Yadagiri before it on Wednesday, after his reported disappearance led to the suspension of the election to Ibrahimpatnam municipal chairperson and vice-chairperson posts. The bench, comprising Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Gadi Praveen Kumar, issued interim orders staying the election process until further directions.
The bench made it clear that the orders would remain in force until Yadagiri, along with his wife, is produced before the court. The court was hearing a lunch motion petition filed by Yadagiri’s son Akula Harikanth, stating his father, who as elected as councillor from ward No 19 of Ibrahimpatnam in Rangareddy district, has been missing. He alleged that despite lodging a police complaint, no effective steps were taken to trace him.
Counsel for the petitioner submitted that 14 councillors belonging to a political party were shifted to a function hall in Bongulur on February 13. While others were later allowed to leave, Yadagiri was allegedly not permitted to leave. Suspicion was raised that a BRS leader and former MLA Manchireddy Kishan Reddy and his son Prashanth Reddy had abducted him as Yadagiri was in the race for the chairperson’s post. Special Government Pleader Pottigari Sridhar Reddy informed the court that the police were investigating and sought time to produce him.
Later in the day, the government informed the bench that Yadagiri had surfaced around the time of the election and sought permission to proceed with the poll. The court declined, observing that the circumstances of his disappearance required clarification. It appointed advocate Ramakrishna Reddy as amicus curiae to assist the court and posted the matter to February 19, directing that Yadagiri be produced before it on Wednesday morning.