Hyderabad: Senior Congress MP from Telangana V Hanumantha Rao yesterday came under attack by those opposing division of Andhra Pradesh at Tirupati when he went to the Tirumala temple for prayers.
The protesters were baton charged after they attacked his car, damaging the windowpanes.
Tension prevailed at Alipiri when the Rajya Sabha member was stopped by protestors when he was returning after a ‘darshan’, police said.
Raising slogans of ‘Jai Samaikya Andhra’, they sat on the road to block his car. Some of the protestors pelted stones, damaging the windowpanes. Police had a tough time controlling the mob. The MP managed to leave the place under tight security.
This is the first incident in which a politician from Telangana was attacked since the July 30 decision of the federal government to carve out a separate Telangana state.
Tirupati is the famous temple town in Chittoor district of Rayalaseema.
Seemandhra, as Rayalaseema and Andhra regions are collectively known, is witnessing protests, shutdown and mass strike to demand the centre to reverse its decision. Meanwhile, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader Harish Rao has condemned the attack on Hanumantha Rao. He asked the Seemandhra protestors not to do anything which creates tension. IANS
