Hyderabad: The allotment of 7,500 square yards of land for a Muslim graveyard in Erragadda has turned into a major election controversy just before the Jubilee Hills by-election.
On Tuesday, October 7, hundreds of residents living in high-rise buildings protested against the state government’s move, with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders coming in their support.
BJP Medak MP M Raghunandan Rao, who joined the protest and interacted with the protestors, warned the state government and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) that a contempt of court will be filed against them.
“The leaders of residents’ associations told us that despite the High Court issuing a stay order on the land and directing authorities not to interfere, the state government went ahead and released a government order just hours before the election code came into effect. This clearly shows that the Congress government is indulging in appeasement politics to secure votes from one community,” Rao alleged.
Residents expressed anger at the district collector and GHMC officials for allegedly breaking open a gate and occupying a 40-foot road on Monday night to provide access to a graveyard that, they claim, is still under litigation.
Hanumantha Naidu, one of the protestors, said that even the Waqf Board had denied ownership of the land and that it had never been classified as a graveyard even before 1950. Calling the road a “privilege land” left by the builder as an alternative access route, he said the authorities had no right to allocate it for a graveyard.
“Only three or four graves belonged to the original landowners from 1938. The government is now using that as justification to hand over the land for a graveyard. They may believe this move will appease a particular community, but they should realise that if they proceed, residents of all other communities in the Jubilee Hills constituency will unite and vote against them in the by-election,” another BJP leader warned.
There were many women who protested against the graveyard in their residential area.
“We bought apartments by spending crores in this area. We can see peacocks in that land. Do we have to see dead bodies from now onwards? We came to know that because the army personnel objected to a graveyard in Shaikpet, they are now giving this land for a graveyard. 4,500 people are living in Brigade Citadel, Kalpatharu and other apartments here,” a female protestor said.
The demand for a Muslim graveyard in Jubilee Hills surfaced just as the by-election became necessary following the sudden demise of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath. Initially, the state government reportedly planned to allot 2,500 square yards of land at Rehmat Nagar. However, as that land is under litigation, authorities decided to allocate land in Erragadda for the graveyard the previous day.
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