Telangana BJP slams CM KCR, calls house arrest of leaders 'unconstitutional, unwarranted'

Terming the house arrest of BJP leaders "unconstitutional and unwarranted", BJP Telangana spokesperson N V Subhash on Friday lashed out at Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). The leaders had proposed to give a memorandum to KCR on the rise in coronavirus cases and requested him to conduct more tests to prevent its spread. Senior state BJP leaders including Dr K Laxman, N Ramachandra Rao, and Raja Singh were detained at their homes.

"Why does Chief Minister KCR fear for BJP? Why he resorted to the house arrest of BJP leaders? A delegation of BJP including leaders Dr K Laxman, N Ramachandra Rao and Raja Singh is placed into house arrest as a precautionary measure. It is unconstitutional and unwarranted," N V Subhash said in a statement.

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BJP state unit tweets on detention:

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Hiding COVID figures

The BJP Telangana spokesperson alleged that the CM is hiding the actual figures of COVID-19 cases in the state and demanded the withdrawal of restrictions on BJP leaders.

"What it appears that Chief Minister KCR is showing off with corona data by hiding the actual figures. Submitting a memorandum to the ruling party and requesting for concrete measures for the benefit of people in the democratic process is a normal practice. The KCR government must withdraw restrictions on the BJP leaders immediately and the police department must give an apology for the house arrest," he said.

He further said the actions of the TRS government raise "many eyebrows" as no government will order preventive house arrest unless it is a huge law and order problem, adding that it indicates that the state government is trying to "cover up its mistakes" in dealing with the coronavirus.

READ | Nine Deaths, 209 New COVID-19 Cases In Telangana

Telangana COVID outbreak

Telangana continued to witness a surge in COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with 209 fresh cases and nine deaths being reported, taking the infection count in the state to 4,320 and fatalities to 165. Out of the 209 new cases, 208 were reported from different parts of the state, while one case was found among migrants, foreign returnees and others, a state government bulletin said.

The KCR government has come under question for its continued refusal to engage private labs for testing, despite the approval of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and directions from the Telangana High Court. 

(With ANI inputs)

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