The Hindu : Front Page : Hundreds of TRS workers held

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Thursday, Nov 17, 2005

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Hundreds of TRS workers held

Staff Reporter

Tension prevails at Warangal as rival groups clash over burning of effigies

WARANGAL: Mild tension prevailed in the town with rival TRS groups clashing near the Kaloji Narayana Rao's statue.

Rebel MLA Mandadi Satyanarayana Reddy's followers gathered at the statue to burn the effigy of TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao to counter a similar act by TRS party workers.

Party workers burnt the effigies of all the rebel MLAs-- Dugyala Srinivasa Rao, Mandadi Satyanarayana Reddy and B Sara Rani. The party workers supporting KCR raised slogans against the rebel MLAs and branded them `betrayers' of Telangana movement and demanded that they quit their positions.

A group supporting rebel MLA Mandadi Satyanarayana Reddy gathered at the Kaloji's statue in the evening and tried to burn the effigy of KCR. Two unidentified persons arrived suddenly and tried to snatch away the effigy raising slogans in support of KCR. Mandadi's supporters manhandled them. One Sangulal, who is a staunch supporter of KCR, was beaten up. Both groups came to fisticuffs.

With news of police arriving spreading fast, they ran away from the spot. Mr. Sangulal staged a sit-in near the statue demanding that the cases under SC/ST Act be booked against those who manhandled him. Town DSP Md. Liyaquath Ali Khan reached the spot with additional police force and took Mr. Sangulal away. Earlier in the day, hundreds of TRS party workers were taken into custody by the police when they tried to stage a dharna near the residences of rebel MLAs. They were lodged at Subedari police station and were let off in the evening.

About 1,000 party workers led by senior leaders J. Jacharaiah, P. Sudharshan Reddy and D. Vinay Bhaskar and others staged a dharna near Kaloji Narayana Rao statue and later at the Telangana Martyrs Memorial near Hunter road. Addressing the gathering at the statue, Mr. Jacharaiah said the persons who were not known much were given an opportunity in the political field. Instead of being committed to the movement, they ditched the party and people. "None can stop the Telangana movement. The Congress party should realise that this is a people's movement and not a party's affair," he said.

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