Tension prevailed today during the Prajahita Yatra undertaken by Karimnagar BJP MP Bandi Sanjay.
When the yatra reached Ramulapalli, several Congress leaders tried to block it. They also tried to attack Sanjay.
A scuffle then broke out between the Congress and the BJP cadres.
With the two groups attacking each other physically, the police swung into action and stopped both sides. Several leaders were arrested and taken to the local police station.
Sanjay's yatra continued amid tight security later.
Congress leaders were angry as Sanjay's remarks at the Prajahita Yatra in Husnabad on Monday were derogatory to their leader Ponnam Prabhakar. They burnt effigies of the BJP and Sanjay across the constituency in protest against his remarks, and tore the BJP's flexes.
Prabhakar's followers and Congress cadres are continuing their agitation across the constituency. Several Congress leaders have been arrested and taken to police stations under the Karimnagar and Siddipet commissionerates.
Police have also imposed restrictions on Sanjay's yatra as tension prevailed in the areas that he is likely to visit. The police also banned him from speaking at rallies or making provocative remarks to avoid disturbing the law and order.
Responding to the attacks, Sanjay said, "I have not spoken in a way that offends anyone. The Congress leaders are enacting dramas out of fear of defeat. If the situation persists, the will be punished like the previous government has been."
He also said that he had respect for Prabhakar.
Sanjay added that the yatra would continue peacefully and that the public support for it would increase. He also said that he would quit politics if he lost in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.