Sonia, Rahul Court Appearance: Congress Protests

The Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee staged a protest at the Indira Gandhi statue on Necklace Road on Saturday against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for "harassing" AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.

Speaking on the occasion, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the BJP government had revived the National Herald case though the court had dismissed it in the past, purely for revenge.

He said that the National Herald newspaper belonged to the Congress Party, and warned the BJP government that the Congress cadre would intensify the movement against it if it failed to stop harassing the Congress leaders.

Later, the police arrested protesting Congress leaders including former MPs Anjan Kumar Yadav and G Vivek and MLA J Geetha Reddy, and shifted them to the Abids Police Station.

Another protest was organized at the Ranga Reddy Collectorate by the Ranga Reddy DCC. DCC president Kyama Mallesh, former PCC Chief Ponnala Laxmaiah, former MLA D Sudheer Reddy and others participated in the program.

TPCC Old City activists also staged a protest at the historic Charminar against the NDA government. Speaking on the occasion, TPCC official spokesperson G Niranjan said that the Congress had extended a Rs 90-crore financial assistance to the National Herald newspaper keeping its great role during the freedom movement in view.

He said that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had no selfish motives in extending financial support to National Herald. "But the BJP government has filed false cases vengefully against the Congress leaders only to defame them," he alleged.

PCC secretaries G Rajaratnam, Allam Bhaskar, Mamidi Gopi, B Venkatesh Mudiraj, K Venkatesh, B R Sadanand, G Kannayyalal, Krishna Kumar, Mahmad Moosa, Parvathala Rajender, S P Kranthi, P Rajesh and others participated in the program.

The TPCC Women's Wing also alleged that the BJP and the Narendra Modi government were harassing Congress leaders to seek political vendetta. It organized another mammoth protest rally against the Centre. Its leader Nerella Sharada alleged that the Modi government was behaving in a spiteful manner against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

The women leaders organized a procession to the BJP office near the Exhibition Grounds with Modi's effigy, and burnt it there raising slogans against the BJP government.