Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders Kalvakuntla Kavitha and Harish Rao were placed under house arrest Friday as authorities sought to prevent a planned protest at the Ambedkar statue near Hyderabad’s Necklace Road.
The demonstration was called by the BRS to protest the arrest of party leaders, including Rao and Kaushik Reddy.
Kavitha’s public relations officer said she was detained before she could join the protest. Harish Rao’s team reported heavy police deployment around his residence to restrict his movement.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi weighed in saying, “Law and Order is Supreme, however opposition has every right to protest against anything which they feel goes against the interest of democracy, constitution (or) the people of the state of which they are a part of.”
Chaturvedi added that she was not fully aware of the reasons behind the house arrest but urged Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to ensure democratic rights were upheld for peaceful protests.
Rao was taken into preventive custody on Thursday morning by Hyderabad police for allegedly obstructing officers attempting to arrest BRS MLA P Kaushik Reddy at his residence. This came just days after Rao was named in a case involving alleged phone tapping.
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According to police, MLA Kaushik Reddy visited the Banjara Hills police station on Wednesday afternoon to file a complaint, claiming that his phone was being tapped by the Congress-led state government. However, as the station house officer (SHO), K Raghavendra, was leaving the premises, Kaushik Reddy and his supporters reportedly blocked the officer’s vehicle.
“BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy was arrested during the early hours today…He has not been produced in court neither station bail has been granted to him…He should be given immediate station bail…We condemn this arrest,” Harish Rao told ANI.
He further slammed CM Revanth Reddy, accusing him of running a “demonic rule” under the pretense of democracy. “You (Revanth Reddy) are continuing the demonic rule while calling it democratic rule. We are not afraid of your quail threats and illegal cases. Telangana society itself will give you wisdom,” he posted on X.
Kaushik Reddy’s arrest followed his complaint at the Banjara Hills police station, accusing the chief minister and Intelligence Chief Shivdhar Reddy of tapping opposition leaders’ phones.