In a shocking act, a TRS worker physically attacked Lok Satta Party founder, Kukatpally MLA and acclaimed intellectual Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan in the Assembly premises today.
The worker appeared to be responding to a call from a TRS leader - "Kottandira Vadini" - and powerfully hit Dr. Narayan, a former IAS officer, on the back of his head, leaving him bewildered, in pain, and in tears.
The incident occurred when the LSP chief was making his way out of a jostling crowd outside the Assembly, at the Media Point. The unidentified TRS worker attacked Dr. Narayan from the back.
Leaders from the Congress and the TDP, and from both sides of the divide, have roundly condemned the attack on Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, and called it a black day for democracy.
Nagam Janardhan Reddy, a prominent Telangana TDP leader, strongly attacked the TRS for the incident, and asked it to unconditionally apologise for the act of violence.
Minister Anam said that it was for the first time in the Assembly history that such an open attack of hostility has taken place. Minister Botsa Satyanarayana echoed similar shock.
Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan is a former IAS officer extremely popular among the educated classes for his attempts to bring about a change in the political fabric of the country.
After resigning from the civil services in the prime of his career and starting Lok Satta in the 1990s as an NGO that fought corruption, he made it a political party in 2005, and won the Kukatpally Assembly seat in the 2009 elections.
An extraordinarily knowledgeable and cogent orator, he is widely seen as an objective and an unbiased voice on any issue.
Citizens of the state are reacting in outrage over the incident. TV channels are inundated with angry protests from leaders and commoners alike, and grabs of the attack are refusing to get off the airwaves.
The Internet is erupting with fury, too, with the report spreading like wildfire thanks to the social networks. The
Lok Satta Party's Facebook page is being flooded with comments from angry netizens.
Dr. Narayan has not made any official statement yet, and is said to be contemplating resigning from the Assembly.
Earlier, pro-Telangana MLAs raised a ruckus in the Assembly on the opening day of the Budget Session, and vociferously tried to disrupt the speech of the Governor, resulting in his completing it in a hurry. TDP MLA Revanth even tried to pull the Governor's chair away in the fracas. Both the houses have been adjourned for the day.