Telangana MLA Harish Rao’s office in Siddipet vandalised; BRS blames Cong
Hyderabad, Aug 17 : Some unidentified persons vandalised the office of BRS legislator and former Telangana minister, T Harish Rao, in Siddipet town in the early hours of Saturday.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) blamed the ruling Congress party for the attack.
Tension prevailed in the town on Friday night after some Congress workers put up a flexi banner, demanding Harish Rao’s resignation as MLA as the Telangana government has implemented crop loan waiver as promised during the elections.
Harish Rao had earlier thrown a challenge to the Telangana government and said that he would resign as MLA if Chief Minister Reddy implemented the loan waiver.
On Friday night, as supporters of Harish Rao came and removed the flexi banner, both the groups raised slogans against each other till the police intervened and dispersed them.
Later, in the wee hours of Saturday, a few unidentified persons barged into Harish Rao’s office and tore the banner while raising ‘Jai Congress’ slogans.
Harish Rao condemned the attack and blamed the ruling party.
“Congress goons’ attack on the Siddipet MLA’s official residence at midnight is an alarming display of lawlessness. Breaking locks and vandalising property in such a manner is not only undemocratic but also raises serious concerns. The police, rather than intervening to prevent this attack, seemingly protected the perpetrators,” the former minister posted on X.
“If an MLA's residence can be targeted so brazenly, what assurance do citizens have of their safety? The destruction of government property in the presence of police is utterly unacceptable,” he said and urged the Director General of Police to take immediate action.
BRS Working President, KT Rama Rao described the attack as a cowardly act. He stated that in the last 10 years, Telangana had been free from revenge politics and political violence.
KT Rama Rao accused the Congress of inciting violence with police assistance after coming to power.
He noted that the people of Telangana are observing the third-rate, vile politics of the Congress and will teach them a lesson at the right time.
“On one hand, Rahul Gandhi talks about ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukan (shop of love)’, but his party is inciting violence under the guise of ‘Nafrat Ki Dukan (shop of hatred)’ in Telangana,” he said.
KT Rama Rao asked, “Is this the 'Mohabbat Ki Dukan' that Rahul Gandhi is supposedly running?”
He questioned whether this is how MP Rahul Gandhi, who claims to be a protector of the Constitution, is safeguarding constitutional values.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had on August 15 launched the third and final phase of waiver of crops loans of up to Rs 2 lakh each and demanded that Harish Rao resign as MLA as he had challenged the government over it.
CM Reddy had also said that if Harish Rao does not resign, he should at least apologise to Telangana farmers and rub his nose at the Telangana Martyrs' Memorial.