Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President K Mahesh Kumar Goud was detained on Thursday, October 8, during the Chalo Lok Bhavan March in Hyderabad against the irregularities in the voter list following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Congress leaders and activists held a massive protest rally from the Indira Gandhi statue on Necklace Road to Lok Bhavan.
Subsequently, the police detained the TPCC president, along with Telangana ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, Sridhar Babu, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Vakiti Srihari, Adluri Laxman Kumar, and others, as they staged a protest at Lok Bhavan.
Before his detention, Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar addressed the protestors and said that the public harbours suspicions regarding irregularities and discrepancies in the voter list revision process taking place across the country.
“The Election Commission bears the responsibility of safeguarding the right to vote, which is crucial to the democratic system,” Prabhakar said.
The minister demanded that CEC Gyaneshwar Kumar resign as the CEC. He urged the Centre and the Election Commission to act transparently to instil public confidence in the electoral system.
Prabhakar strongly condemned the arrest of Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, and MPs from the INDIA bloc, who were protesting peacefully to protect democracy; he termed the action completely illegal and undemocratic.
He asserted that everyone shares the responsibility of protecting the people’s right to vote and demanded a transparent process for the electoral rolls, free from any irregularities.
Prabhakar demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah accept responsibility, resign, and apologise to the people of the country. He affirmed that the Congress party would continue to fight to uphold democracy and constitutional values.
Some Congress leaders also raised slogans in support of Rahul Gandhi, saying, “Rahul Ji tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hain (Keep striving, Rahul; we are with you).”
The detained leaders are likely to be taken to the Punjagutta Police Station.
