Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], December 6 (HBTV): Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders Kalvakuntla Kavitha and Harish Rao were placed under house arrest on Friday to prevent their participation in a planned protest at the Ambedkar statue near Necklace Road. The demonstration was organized by BRS to protest the arrests of party leaders Harish Rao, Kaushik Reddy, and others.

According to Kavitha's public relations officer, she was confined to her residence before she could join the protest. Similarly, Harish Rao’s PRO reported heavy police deployment around his residence, restricting his movements.

Reacting to the house arrest, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi emphasized the importance of upholding democratic rights. She stated, ‘Law and order is supreme, but the opposition has every right to protest against anything they believe undermines democracy, the constitution, or the people’s interests.’ While she admitted lacking specific details about the house arrests, Chaturvedi urged the Telangana Chief Minister to ensure non-violent democratic protests are allowed.

The tensions escalated after Harish Rao was detained for over 10 hours on Thursday when attempting to meet BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy. Reddy had been arrested by Banjara Hills police on Wednesday. Following his release, Rao criticized Reddy's detention as unlawful and demanded immediate station bail.

‘BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy was arrested during the early hours today. He has not been produced in court, nor has station bail been granted. We condemn this arrest and demand immediate bail,’ Harish Rao stated.

Rao also condemned Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, accusing him of operating a ‘demonic rule’ under the guise of democracy. In a post on X, he wrote, ‘You (Revanth Reddy) are continuing the demonic rule while calling it democratic rule. We are not afraid of your threats and illegal cases. Telangana society itself will give you wisdom.’

BRS has alleged that Kaushik Reddy was arrested after filing a complaint at Banjara Hills Police Station against CM Revanth Reddy and Intelligence Chief Shivdhar Reddy, accusing them of tapping the phones of opposition leaders.

The situation remains tense as BRS continues to protest what it deems unjustified actions against its leaders.   

(ANI)