Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday, September 10, directed police to grant permission for two bike rallies proposed as part of Hyderabad Liberation Day on September 17.
Hearing two lunch-motion petitions challenging the denial of permissions, Justice T Madhavi Devi questioned how a rally carrying the national flag could lead to communal violence.
The court criticised the government for creating hurdles and said that it should ideally encourage such events.
Police had denied permission, citing law and order concerns, apprehensions of communal tension, Assembly bandobast, Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations and peak-hour traffic during the proposed time of 10 am to 1 pm.
The first rally is scheduled for September 12 from Balapur to Bhagyalakhsmi Temple at Charminar and is being organised by Andela Sriramulu Yadav, a social activist from Balapur. It is pertinent to note that according to his social media pages, Yadav is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Maheshwaram constituency in-charge.
The second is an all-women motorcycle rally, and is proposed for September 15 from Bhagyalakhsmi Temple to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue near the Assembly. It is being organised by BJP state Mahila Morcha president Y Shilpa Reddy.
The petitioners argued that there was no reason to assume that people carrying the national flag would clash with devotees celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi.
They also said that the second rally would be held after the conclusion of the Assembly session and sought directions to permit both events.
Hearing both arguments, the judge sought to know the additional difficulty caused by the addition of 150 bikes and said that timings can be changed if it clashes with peak hour time.
The judge disposed of both petitions, stating that it was the government’s responsibility to make necessary arrangements and ensure that law and order were maintained. It noted that authorities should not straightaway reject permissions without looking at alternatives.
Hyderabad Liberation Day
Hyderabad Liberation Day marks the day when the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad under Nizam rule merged with the Indian Union in 1948.
Different political parties have given the day different narratives, with the BJP calling it a ‘Liberation Day’ to mark the pushing out of Razakars, while the previous BRS regime celebrated the day as ‘National Integration Day’, focusing on Hyderabad becoming a part of India.
The incumbent Congress government calls the day ‘Praja Palana Dinotsavam‘ (celebration of people’s governance day).
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