TRS, BJP men clash at Bandi Sanjay's I-Day meet in Jangaon

HYDERABAD: Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) workers clashed at an Independence Day event attended by BJP's state president Bandi Sanjay in Devaruppala of Jangaon district on Monday.

It all started when Bandi Sanjay criticised the TRS Government in the State during his Independence Day speech at the Devaruppala mandal headquarters.

TRS workers protested with sloganeering which sparked a confrontation with the BJP activists. As tempers ran high, the two groups came to fisticuffs at the venue. The local police had to resort to a lathi-charge to bring the situation under control.

However, the behaviour of both the warring groups came in for sharp criticism for turning the venue, meant to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence, into a battleground. The police found it tough to pacify the clashing groups and quell them. However, the situation ran out of control.

While complaining to the Telangana DGP about the attack by the TRS party workers, Bandi Sanjay warned that the TRS party would only be in power for six months to a year. He stated that he would drag the two TRS activists who had instigated the fight to the DGP office and call the Chief Minister KCR.

Sanjay rejected security provided to him and asserted that the BJP workers would take care of it, while the police were persuading him not to reject the security. He sought to know what were the police commissioner and the policemen were doing when the BJP workers were attacked.

In fact, Sanjay's criticism of the Chief Minister and the attack on the TRS Government did not go down well with the TRS sympathisers who, in turn, raised slogans against the BJP and Sanjay. This turned violent when the two groups came to blows and then hurled stones at each other.