Hyderabad: Telangana BJP on Sunday condemned the arrest of state president N Ramchander Rao, alleging that police detained him when he was preparing to travel to Banswada to support party workers and an MLA.
BJP National Vice President and MP D K Aruna criticised the police action and questioned whether it was a crime for a state party chief to visit his own legislators. She accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of running what she termed a repressive regime by using the police to block political activity.
Aruna asked why the government appeared alarmed when a party president sought to express solidarity. She described the detention of BJP leaders and workers as a heinous act and said such steps undermined democratic values.
State party official spokesperson and media in-charge N V Subhash also reacted strongly to the arrest of state president. In a statement, he said Rao had planned a peaceful visit to Banswada to condemn the recent attack on a BJP MLA and to stand by party cadres.
Leaders call arrest of state president an attack on democracy
Subhash termed the arrest of state president a direct assault on democracy by the Congress government. He said police later shifted Rao to Bollaram police station after detaining him.
He alleged that the action reflected the government’s biased and high-handed approach. However, he asserted that attempts to intimidate the BJP through arrests and house detentions would not stop its democratic struggle.
The BJP leaders maintained that the Congress government would have to answer to the people for what they described as unlawful actions. They reiterated that the party would continue to protest against the detention and support its workers in Banswada.