BJP Storms Collectorate For Telangana Liberation Day

Telangana BJP workers today laid siege to the Hyderabad Collectorate demanding that the state government officially celebrate Telangana Liberation Day on every September 17.

The police arrested BJP leaders, including party Telangana president Dr K Laxman, when they tried to barge into the Collectorate's main gate as a part of the party's statewide protest demanding official celebration of September 17.

A posse of police personnel were deployed around the Collectorate to prevent BJP workers from entering the premises. A larger number of BJP workers led by Dr Laxman and Nalgonda district president Nookala Narsimha Reddy, however, still tried to gatecrash the Collectorate by crossing the barricades, and were arrested by the police.

Earlier, addressing the party members, Dr Laxman said September 17 was significant in the history of Telangana as the state was liberated from the clutches of the Nizam rule on September 17, 1948. The Razakars, the unofficial army of the Nizam, had killed people in several villages of Telangana in the days preceding the liberation. The Parakala incident, in which 38 people were killed by the Razakars, was similar to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, he said, and urged the government to celebrate September 17 officially respecting the sentiments of the Telangana people.

Similar protests were also reported from various districts, including Karimnagar, in the state.