The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP,) on the 21st of June, called for a protest against the lathi charge on Raja Singh, the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Goshamahal constituency, Telangana.
On the 20th of June, K. Laxman, the President of the BJP in Telangana, met the Additional Director General of Police (DGP) regarding the lathi charge incident.
Mr. Laxman addressed the media and said, the BJP members have to follow one rule, whereas the members of the All India Majlis e Ittehad ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) enjoy different rules in the State.
The reason behind the protest is said to be the lathi charge incident which took place on the 19th of June when Raja Singh, with his followers, tried reinstalling the statue of Rani Avanti Bai in Goshamahal.
According to Raja Singh, the Hyderabad Police allegedly resorted to carry out a lathi charge against him and his followers, without any reason.
However, the Hyderabad Police denied the allegations and said, Raja Singh, with his followers, tried to install a 20 foot statue at Jummerat Bazar, for which, they did not have the required permission.
The Police said, “In the process when he was prevented by police he hit himself with a stone on his head and caused a self inflicted injury on his head (sic.)”
K. Laxman declared the 21st of June as ‘bandh’ in Goshamahal, to protest against the police. He also appealed to the people and businessmen of Goshamahal to extend their support and participate in the protest.
Defending the action of Raja Singh, Laxman said, the statue of Rani Avanti Bai was installed by the local people in 2009 in Goshamahal as a mark of respect towards the freedom fighter. Rani Avanti Bai Lodhi was one of the freedom fighters who fought against the British during the Revolt of 1857.
He said, “It has been the tradition to conduct repairs, taking up painting work and reinstalling statue every two to three years. It was against this backdrop that the local MLA along with his supporters had tried to reinstall a fibre statue of Rani Avanti, as the existing cement statue was damaged due to wear and tear. It was planned to install the statue on Wednesday night so as to avoid inconvenience to the commuters in the day time.”
K. Laxman further said, “Neither there was any complaint from the officials of the civic body nor was there any clash between two groups regarding the reinstallation of the statue leading to a law and order problem. Yet, the police had appeared from nowhere and unilaterally resorted to lathi charge on the local MLA and people there who were trying to reinstall the statue.”
Soon, Laxman deemed a political agenda to be the reason behind the attack and blamed the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS,) the ruling Government of Telangana, for the same. He said, the TRS cannot handle the popularity of the BJP in the State and hence, they are using their power against the BJP MLAs.
The BJP members and followers started the protest on the 21st of June in Goshamahal, Telangana.
Stay tuned for further updates.
