Despite trying to present a brave picture, and dismissing theories of it being a bad omen, the CM was visibly upset over the collapse of the tent.
At least 25 persons were injured, 4 of them seriously, when a temporary tent collapsed due to a gale, during an election meeting in Parkal Assembly constituency, on Sunday.
The tent collapsed minutes before Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy was to address the gathering, at Gudepa.
While Information Technology Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah was addressing the meeting, a strong gale uprooted the tent's ropes, resulting in its immediate collapse. Nearly 3,000 people were seated when the incident happened.
However, security personnel protected the dais on which the Chief Minister, Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana, ministers and MLAs were seated.
The incident led to the abrupt conclusion of the meeting without the speeches of the CM and the PCC president. However, later, talking to reporters, Kiran Kumar Reddy described the collapse of the tent as a minor incident, and refused to accept theories of it being a bad omen. He said that even the nature cannot prevent the Congress from winning the by-elections.
Kiran Kumar Reddy said that people would vote for the Congress for the development and welfare schemes being implemented by the state government. He said that the government has been spending nearly Rs. 26,000 crore on different schemes to benefit lakhs of families across the state.
He also said that the "regional and communal politics" of the TRS and the BJP would not last longer.
He clarified that the by-elections would not be a referendum on his government.
Despite trying to present a brave picture, the Chief Minister was visibly upset over the collapse of the tent during the election meeting. A few minutes later, his helicopter developed a technical snag, and his journey to Hyderabad was delayed by 15 minutes.
Earlier, tension prevailed in Parkal constituency, following the arrest of pro-Telangana activists by the Warangal district police. Nearly 300 people were taken into preventive custody by the police, in view of the Chief Minister's visit. TRS MLAs Etela Rajender, Vinay Bhaskar and T Rajaiah, along with their supporters, staged a protest before the police headquarters, demanding the release of all the activists. (INN)