BRS members stage unique protest with handcuffs, black costumes

BRS members protest in solidarity with farmers, demand release and apology from State government, criticize Congress government.

HYDERABAD

Members of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of both the Legislative Assembly and Council staged a unique protest on Tuesday by wearing black-coloured shirts/t-shirts and sarees and some of the members with handcuffs before entering the Houses in expression of solidarity with the farmers of Lagcherla village in Kodangal constituency.

About 30 farmers of the village, mostly of the tribal, dalit and backward class communities, who refused to give up their lands for the pharma cluster proposed by the government, were arrested by the police on November 12 following the attack on the district authorities at the village. Later, they were lodged at the Sangareddy prison under judicial remand.

The BRS members raised slogans demanding immediate release of the farmers and an apology from the State government to the farmers. They proceeded with handcuffs from the BRS Legislature Party office to the entrance of the lobbies.

Outside, the BRS leaders and ranks staged protests across the State by submitting representations to the Ambedkar statues on the Lagcherla farmers’ issue and demanding their immediate release and withdrawal of cases ‘foisted’ against them.

Later, speaking at the media point in the Assembly, BRS MLAs K.P. Vivekanand and Madhavaram Krishna Rao alleged that the Congress government was conspiring to fix BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao in the Formula-E Race case and also spreading misinformation that the Kaleshwaram project had collapsed and a huge burden was forced on the people with the power purchase agreement with Chhattisgarh.

Terming Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy as ‘Bombuleti’ Srinivasa Reddy for his frequent statement of explosion of political bombs, the BRS leaders said the Cabinet meeting held on Monday only discussed how to arrest KTR and not about the issues being faced by people. They reiterated that KTR was ready to face any kind of inquiry.