BRS women legislators and senior leaders will meet the National Commission for Women in New Delhi over allegations that police personnel manhandled women MLAs during a protest outside the Telangana Legislative Assembly, adding a national-level complaint to a confrontation that has already prompted calls for an inquiry
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi delegation is expected to submit a representation to the NCW after party leaders alleged that police pushed, pulled and prevented women legislators from entering the Assembly premises. The allegations have not been independently established, and an inquiry has been announced by the Telangana government.
BRS MLC Surabhi Vani Devi said both male and female police personnel were involved in the alleged confrontation. Speaking to reporters, she claimed that the legislators were pushed and questioned why they were not allowed to enter the Assembly while wearing what she described as normal attire.
“We can’t say about the opposition. But female police and male police pushed them. I don’t know why they were not allowed to go inside. They were in normal attire, normal saris only,” Vani Devi said.
She further alleged that women legislators were assaulted during the incident, claiming that police personnel pulled their hair and saris. Vani Devi said the delegation decided to approach the NCW after the legislators were not given adequate opportunity to raise their grievances inside the Assembly.
“When we asked for a chance to talk in the Assembly, they were not giving us time. Where to tell our grievances? So we are coming here and giving representation,” she said.
The allegations followed an earlier BRS claim that police dragged party MLA and former minister Sabeeta Indra Reddy by her hair during a protest outside the Assembly. The party shared a video on X that it said showed police personnel removing Reddy from the protest site. The contents and circumstances shown in the video have not been independently verified in the supplied report.
The confrontation took place during a BRS protest marking what the party described as the Congress government’s completion of 1,000 days in office. BRS Working President KT Rama Rao, former minister T Harish Rao and other party leaders were detained after police stopped them from entering the Assembly premises while they were wearing black T-shirts as part of the protest.
Congress MLA Addanki Dayakar called for a comprehensive investigation into the incident. He said IPS officer Vijay Kumar had been appointed to establish what happened and asked the National Human Rights Commission to examine the wider matter.
“We need a comprehensive inquiry into the incident. We have appointed IPS Vijay Kumar to establish what happened on that day. We want all the issues and circumstances to be brought to light. I also request the National Human Rights Commission to conduct an inquiry into the entire matter,” Dayakar said.
The BRS has been protesting against the Congress government over what it says is the failure to fulfil electoral guarantees. The NCW representation and the state-ordered inquiry are the next formal steps reported in connection with the allegations.
