Chalo Assembly protest: Several BJP leaders taken into custody in Telangana

Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Telangana state were placed on house arrest on Friday morning by the Telangana Police in various locations in the state. The state BJP unit gave a call for a protest called 'Chalo Assembly' on September 11 demanding that September 17 be decalared as Telangana Liberation Day.

BJP cadre from various districts such as Jagtial, Mancherial, Siddipet and others planned to come to Hyderabad for Chalo assembly protests, however police have stopped many of them midway and have taken them into custody. Meanwhile, several leaders in Hyderabad and party cadre too were placed in house arrest, some of them include, BJP Telangana Chief Bandi Sanjay, MLC Ram Chandrarao among others.

As the BJP cadre tried to gather at the Assembly, all the roads leading to the assembly complex were blocked by the police and the commuters were diverted to other roads. Scores of policemen were deployed at the Assembly and security was tightened. With the protests and the subsequent arrests, tension prevailed at the Ravindra Bharathi Circle near the assembly.

The BJP had earlier announced that it would conduct Chalo Assembly with their demand for the official announcement of Telangana Liberation Day on September 17, which has been a long pending demand from the BJP.

As The News Minute had earlier reported, the date holds historical significance as it was on this day in 1948 that the Indian Union, led by Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Patel, annexed Hyderabad state through police action, dubbed 'Operation Polo’ and wrested power from Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of the princely state.

Read: BJP ups the ante in Telangana, seeks to cash in on state's 'Liberation Day'