KTR, Harish Rao Arrested During Assembly Protest Over Adani T-Shirts
Tension erupted near the Telangana Assembly as BRS leaders expressed anger over being denied entry into the Assembly wearing T-shirts printed with a photo of Congress leader Revanth Reddy alongside industrialist Gautam Adani. Protesting at the Assembly gate, several BRS MLAs and MLCs, including former ministers K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) and Harish Rao, were taken into police custody.
Before being detained, KTR, BRS Working President and former minister, criticized the state government's actions. He referred to Congress MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, wearing similar T-shirts in Parliament and questioned why BRS leaders were being stopped from entering the Assembly. KTR stated that they intended to protest against forced land acquisition and claimed they were representing the people of Lagadcharla.
KTR accused Congress leaders of maintaining a "fight in Delhi, friendship locally" stance. He alleged that Congress leaders were aligning themselves with Adani while pretending to oppose him in Parliament.
Similarly, Harish Rao condemned the government’s actions, questioning why their T-shirt protest caused such an issue when Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders had done the same in Delhi’s Parliament without facing restrictions.
Harish Rao further criticized the government, alleging conspiracies to sideline opposition voices in the Assembly. He also accused the ruling administration of disrespecting Telangana’s cultural heritage by altering the statue of Telangana Talli (Mother Telangana), claiming the removal of Bathukamma from the new statue was an insult to the women of the state.