Telangana protesters lay siege to ministers, MPs’ houses
By IANSSaturday, January 8, 2011
HYDERABAD - Protests continued in Telangana for the third consecutive day Friday with protesters laying siege to the houses of state ministers, MPs and state legislators of ruling Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to demand their resignations.
Leaders and activists of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and other constituents of Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) staged road blockades in different parts of Telangana protesting the police “excesses” on students at Osmania University in Hyderabad.
The protesters sat on the roads, disrupting vehicular traffic for several hours. Such protests were reported from Khammam, Warangal, Medak, Nalgonda, Karimnagar, Nizamabd, Mahabubnagar and Adilabad districts.
They demanded withdrawal of police and paramilitary forces from Osmnia University and lifting of curbs on media covering Telangana protests.
On a call given by Osmania University Joint Action Committee (OUJAC), students laid siege to the residences of ministers. They also staged protests outside the houses of MPs and state legislators belonging to both the ruling Congress and the main opposition TDP.
Police arrested scores of protesters in various towns in the region. The protests also led to tension in some areas as police used force to control the crowds.
Protesters laid siege to the house of minister Basvaraj Saraiah in Warangal. Another minister Sudershan Reddy’s house in Nizamabad was attacked.
There was also a huge protest outside the residence of MP Ponnam Prabhakar in Karimnagar.
The protesters wanted all ministers, MPs and legislators from the region to resign to mount pressure on the central government to table a bill in parliament during the budget session.
The protests were continuing in Telangana since Thursday when Srikrishna committee’s report was made public.
The panel strongly favoured keeping Andhra Pradesh united but suggested constitutional measures to ensure development of Telangana.
