With PM in Hyderabad, Telangana protests erupt in city

As many as 80 pro-Telangana activists, including four MLAs from the region, were among scores of others who were taken into preventive custody today as they tried to hold protests against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the city.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLA Harish Rao and two other party legislators, along with 'Telangana Nagara Samithi' leader and independent MLA Nagam Janardhan Reddy, T-JAC Chairman M Kodandaram were among 26 others who were taken into custody at Indira Park after they tried to proceed towards Begumpet airport from where Singh was scheduled to depart to Delhi after participating in the biodiversity conference here, a senior police officer said.

Earlier, leaders of various political parties including TRS, BJP, CPI, Telangana Congress, besides workers of organisations like Telangana Joint Action Committee (T-JAC), Telangana Nagara Samithi held a day-long sit-in agitation wearing black badges at Indira Park over the statehood demand.
Police foiled the attempts of the protesters who after holding the dharna tried to march towards the airport alleging that some journalists from Telangana region were not allowed to cover the 11th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The TRS MLAs among others were later released by police.

Earlier, nearly 15 lawyers belonging to Telangana Advocates JAC were picked up by Nampally Police after they burnt effigy of the prime minister in front of Gandhi Bhavan. The lawyers claimed they had written several letters to Singh over the statehood demand, but there was no declaration on according separate statehood for Telangana.

( with PTI inputs)