BJP cries foul as Ramchander Rao stalls Nalgonda visit

The BJP on Tuesday accused the Congress government of “suppressing” democratic rights after BJP state president and former MLC N. Ramchander Rao was stopped by the police and taken into custody while trying to visit Nalgonda district.

Mr. Rao had planned to travel to Nalgonda to meet district party president N. Varshith Reddy, whose house was allegedly ransacked by Congress workers. Police personnel arrived at Mr. Rao’s residence in Tarnac and prevented him from leaving. He was later taken to the Gandhinagar police station, sparking strong protests from party leaders, including national president Nitin Nabin, union ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, along with several senior party leaders.

The incident came less than a week after Mr. Rao was similarly barred from visiting Ramanthapur to meet students of the polytechnic who were protesting against the proposed merger of their institution with the University of Skills. “Democracy is under threat in Telangana, but Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy cannot silence me. I fought against a dictator like former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency,” Mr. Rao said.

Asserting that the BJP would intensify its democratic agitation against the government, Mr. Rao demanded that it explain its achievements during its nearly 1,000 days in office. “How many industries have actually started operations in Telangana? How many times have you gone to Davos? How many investment deals have been announced and how many have translated into actual investment and jobs?” he asked.

He questioned the celebrations surrounding the tenure of the government where “salaries and pensions were not paid on time”.

Mr. Rao further alleged that HYDRAA has created fear and insecurity among families, while HILT has created apprehension among industrial enterprises and employees. The proposed CURE initiative, he claimed, had raised concerns among citizens about additional taxes. He questioned the government’s land auction policy and asked how auctioning land at ₹250 crore per acre would benefit the common people who are facing rising household expenses and worries about their future.

The police also detained BJP Legislature Party leader A. Maheshwar Reddy, MLC C. Anji Reddy, former Banda mayor Karthik Reddy and party general secretary T. Veerender Gouda as they tried to proceed to Nalgonda after detaining Mr. Rao.

Earlier, Mr. Maheshwar Reddy had issued “1000 days of allegations” against the Congress government stating “1000 lies and 1000 betrayals”.

Published – 01 Sep 2026 18:47 IST