The Congress has accused Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) workers of carrying out a “purification ritual” on roads in Siddipet after Dalit Congress workers passed through the area during a protest on Tuesday, September 8.
According to the Congress, BRS workers sprinkled turmeric water on the roads after Dalit Congress workers staged a protest as part of a planned siege of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s residence at Erravalli.
The allegation triggered a political confrontation in the Telangana Assembly on Wednesday, with Congress leaders condemning the reported act and BRS members demanding action over remarks allegedly made against KCR.
Bhatti Raises Issue in Assembly
Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu raised the alleged incident in the Assembly and sought a discussion on it.
When BRS members raised slogans demanding justice for their women MLAs, who they alleged had been manhandled by police, Bhatti questioned their demand while referring to remarks made by BRS MLC Madhusudan Tata against Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar.
“What justice do you want? Justice is needed for the Dalit and Bahujan communities of this state. Justice is needed for the tribal communities. Justice is needed for all those people who have been subjected to humiliation at your hands,” Bhatti said.
He also accused the BRS of continuing discriminatory practices and said Dalits would not accept further humiliation.
Congress Leaders Condemn Alleged Ritual
Bhongir MP Kiran Kumar Chamala condemned the alleged use of turmeric water, saying it reflected intolerance in politics.
“This is not politics. This is the mindset of the BRS,” Chamala said in a post on X. He said Telangana needed politics based on development, dignity and democratic debate rather than “superstition, humiliation and hatred”.
The Telangana Youth Congress also criticised the alleged incident and linked it to the recent controversy involving Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
BRS Members Suspended From Assembly
The dispute over the alleged road purification ritual came amid a major protest by BRS members inside the Telangana Assembly.
More than 20 BRS legislators were suspended for the remainder of the monsoon session after they entered the Well of the House and raised slogans demanding a discussion over alleged remarks by Congress legislators about K Chandrasekhar Rao.
BRS deputy floor leader T Harish Rao, K T Rama Rao, G Jagadishwar Reddy, P Kaushik Reddy and several other legislators were among those suspended.
The suspension motion was moved by Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu after repeated appeals from the Speaker and ministers for the protesting legislators to return to their seats were unsuccessful.
The BRS members were seeking a debate over allegations that some Congress legislators had made remarks suggesting they wanted KCR dead.
The Congress, meanwhile, raised the alleged road purification incident as an example of what it described as discriminatory behaviour towards Dalits.
The BRS has not, in the material provided, responded directly to the allegation that its workers carried out the alleged purification ritual.
