Harish Rao Arrested for Supporting Ex-Sarpanches' Protest

Former minister Harish Rao was arrested today by the Hyderabad police while supporting a protest organized by former sarpanches of the State.

Rao and other BRS leaders had gathered in front of the Tirumalagiri police station in Secunderabad to protest in solidarity with the sarpanches. The police arrived on the scene and swiftly detained Rao and other leaders involved.

Rao condemned the arrests and detentions of the former sarpanches, calling the arrests "heinous". He criticized the police for arresting the sarpanches "like thieves and terrorists" in the middle of the night.

"The Congress government is indulging in vendetta against the sarpanches, who have taken loans and sold their family gold to fund public works in their villages," he lamented.

He accused the State government of ignoring repeated requests to clear the unpaid dues owed to the sarpanches. "Under KCR's leadership, sarpanches played a crucial role in village development and in winning the Prime Minister's Panchayat Awards. Why is Chief Minister Revanth Reddy punishing the sarpanches who have worked hard for their communities?" he asked.

Rao alleged that while pending bills for large contractors were being cleared, the sarpanches' bills remained unpaid. "It has been over 10 months since this government came to power, yet bills of even Rs 10 lakh haven't been cleared for the sarpanches," he claimed, and urged the government to initiate discussions with them.

Rao further claimed that the police had confiscated the sarpanches' phones and detained the sarpanches like they were terrorists. He added that BRS leaders including him were prevented from speaking to the detained sarpanches.

Along with Rao, Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Council Madhusudhana Chary, former minister Prashanth Reddy, MLAs Kotha Prabhakar Reddy and Dr Sanjay, and several other BRS leaders were also arrested during the protest.