Pro-Telangana activists on Tuesday held protests and burnt effigies of Kanchi Peethadipati Jayendra Saraswati at the Osmania University campus here demanding immediate withdrawal of his remarks over Telangana.
Around 15 activists of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) staged a demonstration in front of the Skandagiri temple in Padmarao Nagar here and burnt the effigy of the Kanchi seer, and were immediately taken into preventive custody and they were later let off, a senior police officer told PTI.
Referring to the agitation in Telangana region, Jayendra Saraswati had “warned” against division of Andhra Pradesh, saying it would be “disastrous”. Speaking to reporters in Guntur district yesterday, he had said “Telugu speaking people should stay united.”
Demanding withdrawal of the seer’s statement, pro-Telangana protesters shouted slogans against Jayendra Saraswati and held a dharna and burnt his effigy, but were moved away from the temple, the police official said.
Similarly, members of the Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) took out a rally at the campus and burnt a effigy of the Kanchi seer.
The protesters asked the seer “to behave like a spiritual leader” and to respect the sentiments of the people of Telangana region.
