There was high drama outside Parliament as the Telangana Bill was being tabled by the Central Government on Thursday. Supporters of Telangana and Seemandhara protested on the street outside Parliament near Vijay Chowk, forcing the Delhi Police to deploy a heavy contingent.
“The State should be divided only if it helps the people of the region, but this division will do no such thing,” a protestor said.
The situation went out of control when the two groups — pro-Telangana and anti-Telangana — clashed around 11.30 a.m. The police was forced to intervene and remove the protestors forcibly.
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“Around 60-65 people were detained at the Parliament Street police station in the afternoon. They were released later. No formal first information report was registered against them. None of those detained were MPs or MLAs,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) S.B.S. Tyagi.
He tried to negotiate with the protestors, but decided to use force when the situation deteriorated.
In a related development, K. Narayana Rao of the Telugu Desam Party, and Congress leaders Union Minister P. Balram Naik, Ponnam Prabhakar and Vinay Pandey were hospitalised. Mr. Rao fainted when the House met post-lunch while he was standing in the Well, while others were rushed to the hospital after they complained of difficulty in breathing and burning in the eyes following a pepper spray attack.
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“Mr. Rao came to the casualty with complaints of palpitation and uneasiness. His blood pressure and pulse rate were very high. He has now been shifted to the coronary care unit,” said a senior doctor at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. He added that Mr. Rao had undergone angiography a week ago in Hyderabad and was advised a bypass surgery.
“The other MPs who were brought to the casualty complained of burning in the eyes, difficulty in breathing and skin irritation. A team of doctors examined them and they were discharged by 2.20 p.m.,” the doctor added.