Hyderabad.12.09.2024: On Thursday, supporters of Serlingampally MLA Arekapudi Gandhi attacked the home of Huzurabad BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy in a gated villa community in Kondapur. This incident occurred after a heated exchange between the two politicians, with Kaushik Reddy promising to visit Gandhi’s house to give him a BRS scarf and hoist the BRS flag.
The tension started when Gandhi, who recently left the BRS to join the ruling Congress, defended his appointment as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by the Assembly Speaker. Gandhi claimed he still represented the BRS as an MLA. In response, Kaushik Reddy announced on Wednesday that he would visit Gandhi’s residence at 11 a.m. on Thursday to confront him, offer him a BRS scarf, and hoist the BRS flag. He accused Gandhi of betraying the party by joining Congress and accepting the PAC chairman post.
In preparation for the confrontation, heavy police forces were deployed outside both MLA’s homes. To prevent any escalation, the police placed Kaushik Reddy under house arrest. Reddy then challenged Gandhi to prove his loyalty by coming to the BRS office at Telangana Bhavan and accompanying him to meet party chief K. Chandrashekhar Rao. He further demanded that if Gandhi had joined the Congress, he should resign immediately.
Gandhi responded by questioning Kaushik Reddy’s ability to challenge a senior legislator like himself. He accused Reddy of seeking media attention and contributing to the BRS’s poor performance in recent elections. Gandhi announced that if Reddy did not visit him, he would go to Reddy’s house instead.
Later, Gandhi and his supporters went to the gated community where Kaushik Reddy resides. However, the police stopped them outside, and Gandhi and his supporters staged a sit-in protest on the roadside. After some time, the police managed to control the situation and moved Gandhi back to his residence in Kukatpally.
Despite police efforts, a few of Gandhi’s supporters managed to enter the gated community and got into a fistfight with BRS members near Kaushik Reddy’s home. They damaged flower pots, plastic chairs, and threw stones, breaking windows. They also threw tomatoes and eggs at Reddy, but he managed to avoid them.
Speaking to the media, Kaushik Reddy vowed to retaliate against Gandhi, stating that he would not be intimidated by such attacks. He also complained that senior police officials did not respond to his calls to arrest those who attacked him and his family.
