Attack Congress leaders: KCR
A bandh here on September 30 and a three-day rail roko across Telangana from October 9 to 11 form part of an intensified agitation by the Telangana joint action committee (JAC) from Tuesday to step up pressure on the Centre to concede statehood to the region.
The next phase of agitation which was finalised at a meeting of the JAC here on Monday was released to media by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao and the panel's chairman M. Kodandaram. The bandh will coincide with the deadline set by Congress leaders to the Centre to make an announcement on Telangana.
Constituents of JAC will participate in rallies taken out by Road Transport Corporation (RTC) workers on Tuesday, stage rasta roko in Hyderabad and over 100 places elsewhere in the region on Wednesday, and lay siege to the houses of ruling Congress leaders against the power cut to the agriculture sector on Thursday.
Mr. Rao called upon Telangana supporters to target leaders from the region, particularly those of the Congress, for the recent power cuts to agriculture which the government claimed was on account of poor generation due to lack of coal supplies. Meanwhile, disturbances were witnessed in several places in Hyderabad as the general strike entered the 14{+t}{+h} day on Monday. Infrastructure and Investments Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Congress MPs Ponnam Prabhakar, Madhu Yaskhi and S. Rajaiah and TRS MLAs Eatala Rajender and K.T. Rama Rao were arrested when they obstructed traffic on the busy road opposite the Vidyuth Soudha.
Earlier, the Minister and others stormed the chambers of Transport Commissioner Heeralal Samariya nearby seeking withdrawal of show-cause notices issued to employees who participated in the general strike. Additional Commissioner of Transport P. Srinivas was beaten up.
An industrial bandh was organised on Monday as workers of PSUs, including BHEL and Ordnance Factory, and private sector majors like Aurobindo, Reddy Labs and Matrix abstained from work. The office of Emaar Properties in Nanakramguda was attacked by agitators.
Employees of the Secretariat took out a procession and staged a dharna in front of the block housing the Chief Minister's office.