BRS supporters protest Bandi Sanjay’s remarks on MLC Kavitha

Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi and other BRS woman leaders stopped from forcibly entering Raj Bhavan

An unsavoury remark by BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar against Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter and Bharat Rashtra Samiti MLC K. Kavitha sparked wild protests by BRS workers, mainly women, across the State on Saturday.

Mr. Sanjay had passed the remarks in the context of Ms. Kavitha’s questioning by Enforcement Directorate in Delhi liquor scam.

Resenting them, the BRS cadre took to roads and burnt Mr. Sanjay’s effigies at prominent junctions. They demanded his unconditional apology. In Hyderabad, police took into custody Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi and her supporters when they staged a sit-in in front of Raj Bhavan demanding an audience with Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to lodge a complaint against Mr. Sanjay.

Ms. Vijayalaxmi, Deputy Mayor M. Srilatha Reddy, Alair MLA G. Sunitha led a large number of women to the Raj Bhavan after unsuccessfully trying an appointment with the Governor. The crowd tried to force its way into Raj Bhavan pushing through barricades but it was prevented by the police. Then, the protestors sat on the road and refused to leave until they handed over a memorandum to the Governor.

The State Women’s Commission took suo motu cognizance of Mr. Sanjay’s remarks and ordered the Director General of Police to submit a report after inquiry. The Commission also directed Mr. Sanjay to offer an explanation in person. Mr. Sanjay assured to comply with the direction on receipt of notice.

In Delhi, chairman of Telangana Foods Rajeev Sagar filed a complaint with the National Commission for Women. Ministers P. Sabita Indra Reddy and Satyavathi Rathod who were camping in Delhi condemned Mr. Sanjay’s remarks.

The BRS leaders lodged complaints at several police stations after staging protests. Senior officials were said to have explored combining all complaints and assign action against Mr. Sanjay to a single police station. The police locked the gates of ED office at Basheerbagh and closed the road leading to BJP office at Nampally as part of intensifying security in anticipation of trouble.