Telangana BJP chief N. Ramchander Rao under house arrest before Kamareddy visit

Telangana BJP chief N. Ramchander Rao was placed under house arrest late Saturday as a preventive step before his Sunday visit to Kamareddy, where he was going to meet victims of a "ghastly attack" on BJP MLA Katipalli Venkata Ramana Reddy's office by alleged Congress workers. 

Telangana BJP chief N. Ramchander Rao faced house arrest late on Saturday night as a preemptive measure before his planned visit to Kamareddy on Sunday, February 22.

In a phone call, Telangana BJP chief N. Ramchander Rao confirmed, "Police placed me under house arrest tonight." Tensions boiled in Kamareddy after alleged Congress workers launched a "ghastly attack" on BJP MLA Katipalli Venkata Ramana Reddy's camp office. Rao had planned to console the stone-pelting victims in Banswada.
On February 20-21, violent clashes broke out between BJP and Congress workers in Kamareddy town. The tension was sparked by a dispute over Government Degree College land, which BJP MLA Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy alleged was being illegally sold or handled by Congress leaders, specifically targeting Shabbir Ali.

During protests on Saturday, a vehicle belonging to a Congress leader was overturned, and stones were pelted, leading to injuries among party workers and police personnel.
Telangana BJP slammed the arrest of BJYM leaders en route to protest the Youth Congress's "misconduct" at the India AI Global Summit in New Delhi. Chief N. Ramchander Rao blasted Congress for enforcing "Sharia Law" and ignoring citizens, questioning: "Can they truly stand with the people?"
Rao argued that being prevented from meeting victims of violence is a message that the government will not allow the opposition to stand with citizens. Rao confirmed via phone that he was placed under house arrest at his residence in Tarnaka.

Other senior BJP leaders, including Union Minister Bandi Sanjay, have called the state government's tactics "dictatorial" and an attempt to cover up political failures.

Telangana BJP chief N. Ramchander Rao beamed on Tuesday over the party's civic poll haul, celebrating a historic first, clinching both mayor and deputy mayor posts in a municipal corporation. He highlighted the BJP's rise as the single largest force in Adilabad, Kamareddy, and Nizamabad, while criticizing the opposition's unity as a desperate bid to block their surge.

"For the first time in Telangana, the BJP has clinched a municipal corporation in Karimnagar, capturing both the mayor and deputy mayor posts... In most municipal parties, such as Adilabad, Kamareddy, and Nizamabad, where the BJP is the single largest party, the Congress, BRS, and AIMIM came together to defeat the BJP. Similarly, in 15 smaller municipalities, the BJP is the single largest party... We are happy that the Telangana people have given us a good number of wards," Ramchander Rao told ANI.BJP candidate Kolagani Srinivas was elected as the Mayor of Karimnagar Municipal Corporation on Monday.

Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other BJP leaders facilitated him at the Municipal office in Karimnagar following his victory in the elections that were held on 11 February in seven Municipal Corporations and 116 Municipalities across the state, covering 414 wards in the Corporations of Kothagudem, Karimnagar, Mahabubnagar, Mancherial, Nizamabad, Nalgonda and Ramagundam, and 2,582 wards in the 116 municipalities.

Meanwhile, Congress came out swinging as a real powerhouse in Telangana's municipal elections, leaving Bharat Rashtra Samithi in second gear. Picture this: on February 11, folks voted in seven big municipal corporations, like Kothagudem, Karimnagar, Mahabubnagar, Mancherial, Nizamabad, Nalgonda, and Ramagundam, tallying 414 wards, plus 116 smaller municipalities with a whopping 2,582 wards across the state.

(with ANI inputs)