Hyderabad: BRS MLA and former minister Sabitha Indra Reddy on Monday alleged that police manhandled BRS women MLAs outside the Telangana Legislative Assembly. She questioned whether Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had directed police to act against the women legislators.
The confrontation occurred after BRS MLAs and MLCs arrived at the Assembly wearing black T-shirts. They wore the shirts as part of a protest against the alleged failures of the Congress government during its 1,000-day rule.
However, police reportedly stopped the legislators from proceeding further. A scuffle subsequently broke out between the police and the protesting BRS members.
Sabitha alleged that BRS women MLAs faced saree-pulling, hair-pulling and choking during the police action. She questioned whether Revanth Reddy had instructed police to treat elected women representatives in that manner.
BRS women MLAs faced humiliation, Sabitha alleges
Sabitha strongly condemned the alleged police conduct and described the incident as an insult to women. She said the treatment had humiliated not only individual BRS legislators but women as a whole.
The former minister also questioned why police had restricted the protest attire worn by the legislators. She argued that elected representatives had the right to raise issues concerning the public inside the Assembly.
Moreover, Sabitha sought accountability from the Congress government over the police action. She questioned whether the alleged treatment of BRS women MLAs reflected the government’s claim of providing “people’s governance”.
The BRS leader demanded that the government answer for the alleged conduct of police outside the Assembly. Her criticism focused on the treatment of women legislators and the restrictions imposed during the BRS protest.