"Owaisi's Arrest Will Cost Congress"

Former Minister Dr. P Shankar Rao condemned the way MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi was arrested by the police.

Talking to reporters at his residence at Musheerabad here on Tuesday, Dr. Shankar Rao said that the behaviour of the police and state government was highly condemnable. He said although he was not supporting the alleged hate speeches of Akbaruddin Owaisi as the courts would take a decision on that matter, he was against the way Akbar was taken into custody by the police.

Rao said that Akbaruddin Owaisi has returned from London immediately after the registration of cases against him to face the court,and, therefore, considering his health condition, the police should have given sufficient time to him to appear.

Dr. Shankar Rao said that Akbar's arrest would prove very costly for the Congress government, and the minorities in the state would distance themselves from the ruling party. He said that Akbar had been suffering from hernia and kidney ailments, besides having a bullet embedded in his body. Arresting a sick person without even issuing a medical bulletin on his fitness to travel 250 kilometres was improper, he said.

The former minister blamed Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for the arrest and appealed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to note his behaviour. He said that Akbar's arrest would strengthen the communal forces in the state. (INN)