Police foil rally against proposed shifting of Secretariat in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Scores of Congress leaders here were today taken into preventive custody as police foiled their attempts to take out a rally in protest against the proposed re-location of the Secretariat and the Chest Hospital.

The Telangana Congress party had planned a 'padyatra' from Gandhi Bhavan to Raj Bhavan here with hundreds of partymen from across the state led by their leaders, including TPCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Shabbir Ali, M Shashidar Reddy among others, gathering here.

The protesters were seen raising slogans against chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and as they marched towards Nampally, police rounded them up and packed them in vehicles.

Hyderabad Police had yesterday denied permission to the Congress party on the grounds that prohibitory orders (on rallies and dharnas) were already in place as part of security measures.

"The situation is under control. No permission was given to the rally in view of prohibitory orders. They tried to take out a rally despite rejection for the same resulting in traffic disturbance and hence police intervened and took several of them into preventive custody," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) V B Kamalasan Reddy told PTI.

As part of the padyatra, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee was planning to meet the Governor and submit to him a memorandum against the proposal to shift the Secretariat.