Violence in the Old City
Tension prevailed in the Old City on Friday as violence erupted following prayers in the Mecca Masjid on November 16. Youth emerging from the mosque wanted to perform prayers near the Charminar and were prevented by the police. They began pelting stones and soon the situation turned violent as the rampaging crowd set fire to four vehicles and damaged some others. There was an ensuing lathicharge and firing of tear gas shells. The violence soon spread to the surrounding areas of the Charminar such as Rein Bazar, Moghulpura, Yakutpura. Speaking to Outlook, South Zone DCP Akun Sabharwal said there was heavy stone-pelting in Rein Bazar area as well but that curfew had not been imposed in any part of the Old City. Schoolchildren and some women who were caught in the violence were escorted to safety in police vehicles. The construction of a canopy and shed at the Bhagyalakshmi temple located close to the Charminar has led to escalating tensions in the Old City and, over the last month, there have been repeated incidents of violence. Following Friday's violence, home minister Sabitha Indra Reddy appealed to citizens to stay calm and not be carried away by rumour mongering or other inflammatory statements. She assured people that peace in Hyderabad would be protected at all costs. Some shops were also burnt and common people were attacked by the angry protestors. The huge crowd also attempted to attack an MMTS train as alarmed passengers looked on. MMTS services have been cancelled for today. At least one person was attacked and suffered knife wounds.
Hyderabadi Hardball
After the MIM declared its withdrawal of support to the Kiran Kumar Reddy government as well as the UPA, the State Congress seemed unsure as to how to react. It went into its usual huddle and looked askance at New Delhi for support. The famed trouble-shooters Digvijay Singh, Vayalar Ravi and Ghulam Nabi Azad have been roped in. Diggy Raja has twitter problems of his own after he drew a parallel between Arvind Kejriwal and Rakhi Sawant. Vayalar Ravi is regarded more of a troublemaker than a trouble-shooter after his tasteless remark, "Telangana? Where is it?" As for Azad, one must have lost count of how many trips he's had to make to Hyderabad to solve one crisis after the other ever since Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's death. But MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi who has been on a massive media drive since his announcement is playing hardball. The Hyderabad MP is neither in the mood to take any calls nor listen to messengers bearing the olive branch.
Double Dhamaka
Amid all this hullabaloo, it is the YSR Congress leaders who are grinning from ear to ear because of the brownie points they are gathering from the MIM. In fact, some party persons admit that even Sharmila Reddy's padayatra has not generated as much publicity as Owaisi's criticism of Kiran Kumar Reddy has. By stating that Muslims who identified themselves with the late YSR now considered Kiran Kumar an ineffective ruler, Owaisi has delivered a double dhamaka. He has hinted that Jagan alone is a worthy successor to YSR's legacy and that Congress is not a secular party.