BJP blames police for party leader's killing

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MAY 12. The State unit of the BJP has criticised the police for failing to protect the life of Revuri Surender, president of the Nizamabad district unit, who was killed by naxalites on Friday.

Talking to presspersons here on Saturday, Mr. G. Kishan Reddy, spokesperson of the party, said Surender as well as the party leadership had urged the police earlier to provide protection to the slain leader. But, the police only advised the victim to shift his activity from Nizamabad.

Mr. Reddy said the party leadership would bring police failure to the notice of the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Sunday. The democratic right of a citizen to carry out lawful activities belonging to a political party was at stake, he said.

Ms. Jhansi Rani, State president of the BJP Mahila Morcha, said 4,000 committees had been formed under `Mahila Jagriti' programme and 3,000 women were trained under it. The programme was aimed at women empowerment and personality development.

The BJP State Working Committee would meet tomorrow. The leadership would discuss the Telangana issue. Though there were a few voices within the party demanding separate Telangana now, the party itself made its stand clear in 1997 on the issue, he added.

The BJP was for smaller States no doubt, but joining hands with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi or anyone on the issue was ruled out. The committee would also discuss the strategy for coming panchayat elections. It would chalk out its future course of action in pressing its demand for utilisation of Godavari waters for Telangana region, he said.

Nizamabad bandh total

KARIMNAGAR: The bandh call given by the Nizamabad district BJP on Saturday, in protest against the killing of Surender on Friday, was total and peaceful barring stray incidents of stone-throwing on RTC buses in some parts of the district.

All business establishments, banks, post offices, cinema halls, petrol bunks, hotels and other establishments remained closed. Reports reaching here said the local BJP leaders in Nizamabad town deflated about 15 RTC buses in various parts of the town. They also organised rallies condemning the brutal killing of Surender.

Since morning, the BJP leaders went to the RTC depots and squatted in front of the depots forcing the authorities to observe bandh and not to operate buses. When the RTC officials tried to operate some services, glasspanes of four buses were broken in the stone-throwing incidents at Nizamabad, Armoor and Kamareddy. Some business establishments were forced to down their shutters by party leaders.

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Section  : Southern States
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