Monday, June 1

Telangana Police deny permission for Pawan Kalyan’s Hyderabad public meeting

Hyderabad, June 1 (IANS) Telangana Police have denied permission for Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Telangana Nava Nirmana Sankalpa Sabha’, planned to be held on the occasion of Telangana Formation Day in Hyderabad on Tuesday, citing a ‘substantial threat’ to the law-and-order situation.

CH. Srinivas, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Serilingampally Zone, Cyberabad Commissionerate, communicated to Talluri Ram, General Secretary of Jana Sena Party, on Monday that the request for permission to conduct the proposed meeting was rejected to ensure law and order, public peace, and tranquillity.

The Jana Sena, headed by actor-politician Pawan Kalyan, had sought permission for a meeting at Sandhya Convention, Gachibowli, on June 2 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., with an expected participation of about 2,000 persons.

The DCP stated that following recent alleged remarks by Prof. K. Nageshwar on the Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister’s meeting with the Union Home Minister and subsequent registration of criminal cases against Prof. Nageshwar in Andhra Pradesh, tensions and animosities escalated across Telangana.

He added that recent public statements by certain political leaders from Andhra Pradesh, including Jana Sena, on the matter involving Prof. Nageshwar had hurt the sentiments of the people of Telangana, triggering backlash, counter-protests, and opposition from student bodies and activist groups.

“Given that the proposed meeting coincides with the 12th Telangana Formation Day, there is a high vulnerability of protests, demonstrations, and severe disruptions to vehicular traffic. Under these conditions, holding the above-said meeting is not conducive to maintaining public peace, as it poses a substantial threat to the law-and-order situation in the jurisdiction of Cyberabad Commissionerate,” reads the communication.

The DCP also noted that verification with the management of the proposed venue revealed that no designated parking facility exists.

Meanwhile, Jana Sena said the reasons cited for rejecting permission raised more questions than they answered and appeared more like excuses than genuine concerns. In a statement posted on X, the party asked: “How did the baseless remarks of an analyst and the counterarguments made against those baseless remarks suddenly become a threat to law and order across Telangana? Isn’t that a lame excuse to stop the event?”

The party further said: “So, making baseless allegations is acceptable, but responding to them supposedly triggers tensions? Neither Jana Sena nor Pawan Kalyan garu dragged Telangana into this issue. The real question is: who brought regional sentiments into the debate and why? Why hasn’t the Telangana Government taken any action against those who actually triggered regional sentiments in this discussion? They remained silent then. Why?”

“It is unfortunate that the Telangana Government appears to have acted hastily, citing vague law-and-order concerns and parking issues, while the intention to stop the event had already been conveyed through selective narratives and half-cut videos promoted by certain ministers,” it added.

–IANS

ms/dan