TELANGANA CONG LEADER DETAINED, RELEASED
HYDERABAD: Telangana Congress working president Anumula Revanth Reddy was taken into preventive custody from his residence in Kodangal of Vikarabad district on Tuesday, before being released by the Hyderabad high court
Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar said Reddy was detained following reports that he might create a law-and-order problem during Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president and the state’s caretaker chief mnister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s (KCR) scheduled rally in Kodangal. “We have done it only as per the Election Commission guidelines,” he said.
Campaigning ends in the state on Wednesday and the voting is on December 7.
A report from Kodangal’s returning officer had earlier said the Congress leader’s presence might lead to a law and order breakdown as he had threatened to stall Rao’s meeting. The Congress had called for a shutdown to protest raids on his associates a couple of days ago.
Vikarabad superintendent of police T Annapurna confirmed that the Congress leader was taken into custody as he had given a call to obstruct KCR’s campaign rally.
Local Congress leaders moved the high court, which questioned the propriety of Reddy’s arrest and asked if the police had any specific intelligence as to whether the Congress leader would disturb law and order.
The court issued directions to Telangana’s director general of police (DGP) M Mahender Reddy and CEO to release the Congress leader. Soon after, police escorted Reddy, who was lodged in the police training centre in Jadcherla, back to Kodangal.
His brothers, security guards and the watchman of his house who were also taken into custody, were released.
Reddy’s wife Geetha told reporters that police had broken the front door of their house at around 3 am and forcibly taken him away. “This is highly undemocratic. He has only asked the people to question the government for neglecting the constituency...in the last four years. I appeal to the people not to indulge in any violence but to maintain peace and show their anger in the form of a vote against the TRS,” Geetha Reddy said.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Telugu that the TRS will not defeat the Congress in the December 7 assembly elections by resorting to unethical arrests. Very soon voters of Telangana will put an end to this autocracy,” the tweet read.
KCR’s son and state IT minister K T Rama Rao said the EC was the supreme authority and it had ordered Reddy’s arrest because of his threat to disrupt the CM’s meeting in Kodangal.
“The Maha Kootami (a front formed by the Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Telangana Jana Samithi and the Telugu Desam Party) wants Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Congress president Rahul Gandhi to campaign in Telangana, but tried to stop Telangana CM from visiting a constituency in his own state. During elections, EC is supreme authority and EC ordered preventive custody because of his threat to disrupt CM Kodangal meeting,” Rao said.