Hyderabad:
Pro-Telangana parties' march to the Andhra Pradesh assembly was foiled today by the police who took into preventive custody around 1400 activists, including senior leaders of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and BJP, and blocked all roads leading to the legislature building.
TRS MPs Vijayshanti, G. Vivek and Manda Jagannatham and other party leaders were arrested near assembly. Others arrested also include TRS chief Rao's daughter Kavitha, BJP state president G. Kishan Reddy and CPI state secretary K. Narayana.
Scores of others activists were detained in other Telangana districts and all of them were let off later, police said.
Andhra Pradesh Police had denied permission to the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) for the 'Chalo Assembly' rally. Despite this, the group went ahead with the march to highlight the statehood demand.
The police, who suspected that Maoists may infiltrate into the rally, had turned the city into a fortress. Nearly 10,000 policemen and 20 companies of central para-military forces (around 2,000 personnel) were deployed as similar pro-Telangana protests in the past had turned violent.
The roads leading to the Assembly building were closed for traffic and prohibitory orders imposed to ensure that the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, which is in session, had no disruption in view of the rally.
With elaborate security arrangements in place, the assembly had a smooth session, though it was adjourned for the day without transacting any real business as MLAs of TRS, BJP and CPI stalled the proceedings over the Telangana issue.
3.5 crore people out of Andhra Pradesh's population of 8 crore reside in Telangana, comprising 10 districts including Hyderabad.
The demand for separate statehood the backward region is over four decades old.