BJP Leaders Arrested Hours Before Chalo Pragati Bhavan Call

The police foiled the proposed "Chalo Pragati Bhavan" rally of the BJP and arrested almost all the party's state leaders, including its president Dr K Laxman.

The BJP had given the Chalo Pragati Bhavan call to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao demanding revocation of the externment orders against Sripeetham pontiff Swami Paripoornananda.

Security personnel were deployed at the residences of BJP MLAs and other leaders to prevent them from leaving their houses. The police also took into custody BJP leaders from various places in the city and shifted them to different police stations.

State BJP chief K Laxman was arrested at the Old MLA Quarters and shifted to the Trimulgherry police station. Others arrested included MLA G Kishan Reddy and MLC Ramchander Rao. They had decided to proceed towards Pragati Bhavan from the Assembly building.

Before his arrest, Kishan Reddy said that the Chief Minister did not give an appointment to the BJP leaders who wanted to meet him. "We had written a letter seeking an appointment with the CM. But no appointment was given," he said.

Condemning the externment of Swami Paripoornananda, Reddy said that the act under which he was externed was enacted during the regime of the erstwhile Nizam, and that KCR was implementing the Nizam government's rules. The government should immediately re-consider its decision and withdraw the externment orders, he demanded.