K.T. Rama Rao calls on farmers arrested for attack on Vikarabad officials

Hyderabad, Nov 15 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President, K.T. Rama Rao and some other leaders on Friday called on farmers who are in jail for attacking Vikarabad District Collector and other officials.

A delegation of BRS leaders led by Rama Rao met the arrested farmers in Sangareddy Jail and expressed their solidarity with them.

The BRS leaders assured them that the BRS would stand by them in their fight against the government’s plans to forcibly acquire lands for ‘Pharma Village’.

Vikarabad District Collector Prateek Jain and other officials were attacked by a group of villagers in Lagacharla on November 11 during a public hearing on the proposed pharma cluster.

The incident in Kodangal, the constituency of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, had created a sensation and triggered a war of words between the ruling Congress and Opposition BRS.

The ruling party has alleged that BRS leaders were involved in the conspiracy behind the attack on officials.

They also accused the Opposition party of trying to stall the development works of the government.

The police have booked more than 30 people and have already arrested 20 of them.

They also arrested BRS leader and former Kodangal MLA Patnam Narender Reddy in the case on November 13. He has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.

According to police, Patnam Narender Reddy instigated some people to attack the officials.

The BRS leader, however, has denied the allegation and has filed a quash petition in the Telangana High Court.

As the police mentioned the name of K.T. Rama Rao in the remand report of Patnam Narender Reddy, speculation is rife that the BRS Working President may be arrested in the case.

K.T. Rama Rao has alleged that CM Revanth Reddy was trying to falsely implicate him in the case.

Stating that he is not afraid of the ‘conspiracies’, the BRS leader dared the Chief Minister to arrest him.

“Arrest me! I will walk into the prison with my head held high for standing by the farmers of Telangana,” he posted on social media platform X.

He earlier alleged that the Chief Minister was trying to snatch the lands of farmers for a pharma company owned by his son-in-law.

Another BRS leader and former minister T. Harish Rao had on Thursday called on Patnam Narender Reddy in Cherlapally Jail. He had said after the meeting that people’s revolt has begun against the Congress government.