About 50 people, part of the 'Chalo Assembly' march by pro-Telangana leaders in Hyderabad, breached the security near the Andhra Pradesh Assembly today. The protesters, who reached within the 100 yards of the Assembly, were arrested by the police. Security has been beefed up in Hyderabad in the wake of the march as the Budget Session is underway.
Here are 10 developments in the story:
Leaders of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), climbed the Congress building inside the Assembly premises and put a black flag there. The marshals brought the two MLAs -K Sammaiah and D Vinay Bhaskar - down after an hour. The Assembly has been adjourned till Monday.
The Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC), which is leading the march, plans to submit memorandum to the Chief Minister and the Speaker demanding resolution on Telangana. "Having made every effort, we finally really realised that we should put pressure on the Assembly because all members had promised Telangana," said M Kodandaram, Convenor, Telangana Joint Action Committee.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has ruled out giving permission for the march. He said since there were apprehensions of Maoists joining the gathering, the government can't allow such protest.
Huge police force from the state and 20 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed within 2 km-radius of the Assembly premises. "I have been staying in Hyderabad for the last 50 years but I've never seen the city like this," said the BJP's Nagam Janardhan Reddy.
There are traffic restrictions on all roads leading to Assembly. Five flyovers - Khairtabad, Narayanguda, Basheerbagh, Telugu Thalli and Masab Tank - near the Assembly have been closed. They will remain closed on Friday.
17 check-posts have been put up in Hyderabad; 58 in Cyberabad. Prohibitory orders are in place in these twin cities since Wednesday. There are reports that hundreds of pro-Telangana activists have been taken into preventive custody.
Vehicular traffic will be diverted at 21 points in both Hyderabad and Secunderabad to prevent people from heading towards the Assembly.
Schools and colleges have declared a holiday as a precautionary measure. Students of the Osmania University have said that will participate in today's march.
The work in government departments, courts and even Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is likely to be hit as a section of employees supporting Telangana demand have threatened to go on flash strike to protest what they call "repressive" measures by the police.
For the last two days, pro-Telangana students have clashed with police on the Osmania University campus in Hyderabad, demanding that they be allowed to take out the rally.
