Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], December 17: BRS MLCs, including K Kavitha, along with other party members, staged a protest in the Telangana Legislative Council today to demand justice for farmers arrested in Lagcherla. The protestors, wearing black clothing and handcuffs as a symbol of their dissent, voiced their anger over the arrests.
In a post on X, the BRS party stated, “In protest against the Congress government’s stance that has shackled poor tribal and Dalit farmers of Lagcherla, BRS Working President @KTRBRS and BRS MLAs wore black shirts, raised slogans, and staged a protest by shackling their hands in the Assembly.”
BRS MLAs, including Harish Rao and KT Rama Rao, raised signs and chanted slogans within the Assembly to highlight the arrests of Lagcherla farmers.
Speaking to ANI, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao criticized the Telangana government, led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, stating, “For the last 40 days, more than 40 farmers have been jailed due to the CM’s bruised ego.”
He further added, “Tourism cannot be more important than the plight of 40 jailed farmers. We demand that the cases against these farmers be dropped and that they be released.”
BRS MLA Harish Rao also condemned the government’s actions, claiming that tribal farmers had been tortured in jail. “The government arrested the farmers at midnight, and they have been in jail for over 30 days. We wanted to raise this issue in the Assembly, but the government is focusing on tourism. These farmers are suffering. Why is the government ignoring this?” he said.
In response, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Chief Mahesh Kumar Goud accused BRS of mismanaging the state’s infrastructure over the past decade. He stated, “Lagcherla Pharma City is a closed chapter. The CM has already directed the development of an industrial infrastructure centre there. The BRS government failed to uplift industrial infrastructure in the last 10 years.”
Goud further praised CM Revanth Reddy for his focus on rural development and emphasized, “The CM is committed to rural progress, and Telangana needs to focus on rural areas’ development.”
He concluded by stating that while farmers were arrested for allegedly assaulting officials, the legal processes would ensure their release. The government, he claimed, had no involvement in the arrests.