HYDERABAD: A political row erupted in Telangana on Tuesday after BJP state president N Ramchander Rao was placed under house arrest, with the party alleging that he was stopped from travelling to Nalgonda following an attack on the residence of district BJP president Nagam Varshit Reddy.Rao was scheduled to meet Reddy and his family after the latter’s residence was reportedly vandalised and his family members, including his mother, were allegedly assaulted by Congress workers on Monday evening, the state BJP said.In a post on X, Telangana BJP accused the Congress government of failing to take strict action against those responsible for the alleged attack and instead preventing Rao from visiting the affected family.The party said Rao had planned to travel to Nalgonda to meet Reddy and express solidarity with his family. It alleged that placing the state BJP chief under house arrest was an attempt to stop him from visiting the district.The development comes days after Rao hit out at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on a ‘Shuddhikaran’ (purification) ritual following Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s visit to Uttarakhand.Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Rao accused Gandhi of indulging in “cheap politics” and misinterpreting the ritual, claiming that members of the Dalit community had also taken part in it.Rao alleged that Gandhi was attempting to divide people on regional and caste lines and accused him of trying to create a divide between North and South India.“He wants to twist the facts and mislead the people,” Rao said, while alleging that Gandhi was also seeking to create divisions on caste lines in Uttar Pradesh.Rao also targeted Kharge, alleging that the Congress had opposed BR Ambedkar and defeated him in elections, besides claiming that the party did not confer the Bharat Ratna on him.
