Arrests denied remand; Congress marched to Erravelli

Two BRS MLCs were arrested on September 8 over alleged derogatory remarks against Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar. Saifabad police arrested Thatha Madhusudhan, also known as Tata Madhu, and N. Naveen Kumar Reddy after a complaint by the Speaker’s OSD, Pollepalli Venkatesham, reports said. The alleged remarks were said to have been made during a confrontation outside the Assembly on September 7.

The Nampally court rejected the police request for remand and released both legislators on bond or surety, according to reports. The court’s written reasoning was not available in the material reviewed, so the ruling does not by itself establish that the arrests were illegal. The exact words allegedly used, and the full context of any video evidence, also remain unverified. Madhusudhan denied insulting the Speaker.

The Congress SC Cell then called for a protest march or “siege” at BRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao’s Erravelli residence. Congress workers and Dalit activists were stopped by police before reaching the farmhouse, reports said. Congress demanded an apology from KCR; the BRS accused the Congress government of political targeting. The Congress government has not bothered to produce the court’s reasoning in public. It did produce a march.