Protest politics heats up in Hyderabad as Assembly opens, civic polls loom
The unusual spectacle has seen both Opposition parties intensify their campaigns against the Congress government while the ruling party itself has taken to Dharna Chowk to target BRS president KCR over his absence from the Assembly.
HYDERABAD: With the Telangana Assembly beginning its Monsoon Session on Monday and political parties already positioning themselves for the coming Hyderabad civic elections, protest politics has moved to centre stage in the state, with the ruling Congress, BRS and BJP taking turns to hit the streets against one another.
The unusual spectacle has seen both Opposition parties intensify their campaigns against the Congress government while the ruling party itself has taken to Dharna Chowk to target BRS president and Leader of the Opposition K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) over his absence from the Assembly.
The political temperature rose further on Monday when BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, former minister T. Harish Rao and other party legislators were detained outside the Assembly after they were stopped from entering the premises wearing black T-shirts carrying slogans against the Congress government. The BRS said the attire was intended to mark what it described as the failures of the government after 1,000 days in office.
The BRS legislators had earlier gathered at Gun Park and accused the Congress of failing to implement its election promises. Rama Rao said KCR had instructed the party's legislators to raise issues including fee reimbursement arrears and problems faced by farmers, employees, auto drivers, Singareni workers and other sections during the Assembly session.
The BRS has also called for protests across the state against what it described as attempts by the government and police to prevent its legislators from participating in Assembly proceedings.
Its offensive comes close on the heels of an intensified BJP campaign against the Revanth Reddy government.
State BJP president N. Ramchander Rao was taken into custody on Thursday while leading party leaders towards the Secretariat to submit representations carrying signatures reportedly collected from more than eight lakh students demanding clearance of long-pending fee reimbursement dues.
Rao, who has been detained or placed under house arrest repeatedly during recent protests, said arrests would not deter the BJP from escalating its agitation. The party has sought to turn the Congress government's completion of 1,000 days in office into a campaign issue by focusing on students, farmers, government employees and other sections.
Not to be left out of the protest arena, the Congress organised its own dharna at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park on Sunday — but directed its attack at KCR.
TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, ministers D. Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar and other Congress leaders demanded that KCR either attend Assembly proceedings and discharge his responsibilities as Leader of the Opposition or resign as an MLA. Congress leaders questioned his continued absence from the legislature while enjoying the salary and facilities attached to his position.
Ponnam Prabhakar argued that employees could face action for prolonged absence from work and said elected representatives should similarly be accountable to the people. Congress leaders also challenged the BRS leadership to raise public issues inside the legislature rather than limiting its campaign to street protests.
The competing agitations signal an early sharpening of political battle lines ahead of the crucial civic contest in Hyderabad. The erstwhile GHMC has been reorganised into Greater Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri municipal corporations, with elections to the three civic bodies expected later this year. The government has been considering holding the remaining urban local body elections after completion of the ongoing revision of electoral rolls.
For all three parties, the civic elections will carry significance beyond municipal governance. Congress will seek to consolidate its position in the state capital, the BRS will attempt to demonstrate that its urban support base remains intact after losing power in 2023, while the BJP — which has said it will contest the Hyderabad civic elections on its own — is looking to expand its footprint in the city.
With the Assembly providing one arena and the streets another, the battle for Hyderabad appears to have begun well before the civic poll notification.
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