T’gana: HC Lifts Ban Imposed by TRS on Protests at Hyd’bad’s Dharna Chowk

Ahead of assembly elections in Telangana, caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi has suffered a major setback as the Hyderabad High Court on November 13 lifted the government’s ban on protests at the famous Dharna Chowk near Indira Park in Hyderabad, the state’s capital.

Stating that dissent is a process through which democracy survives, a bench led by Chief Justice T B Radhakrishnan and Justice S V Bhatt said: “Open the chowk for six weeks from now. Let us watch the rhythm of the constitution.”

Two years after coming to power, TRS government banned all kinds of protests at Dharna Chowk in 2016. This move attracted massive outrage from all mass organisations, as the Chowk was a key spot for protests for about two decades until then. 

Several public interest litigations have been filed by politicians including Chada Venkat Reddy from CPI and V Hanumantha Rao from Congress. The High Court too converted a letter written by Professor P L Vishweswara Rao into a PIL, in this matter. While delivering its order, the court said that the government cannot ask the people to go to forests to protest. “You cannot ask a crying child to go to a corner in the second floor of a building, and cry there, and come down calmly once his or her weeping is over. Also you cannot ask people to protest in forests so that your development in the city can go on,” the bench said.

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The court’s ruling is a major setback to the TRS government ahead of the upcoming elections. Telakapalli Ravi, writer and political analyst, told Newsclick: “The chowk was the centre of thousands of people’s struggles both in undivided Andhra Pradesh, and in Telangana. In fact, TRS leaders have participated in numerous protests at the chowk in the separate statehood movement. The way the TRS government under K Chandrasekhar Rao banned the protests was a clear case pf stifling the voice of democracy.”

“Though K Chandrasekhar Rao claims that his government is a result of movements, he never acknowledged mass movements during the TRS regime. The government has resorted to using police forces through brutal lathi charge and arrests to curb several movements including those of rehabilitation rights, students’ movements and human rights struggles,” he added.

“The chief minister failed to even recognise people’s unions, especially mass and class organisations, but he only gave importance to caste-based organisations. He was always ready to lure caste-based support.” “In fact,” Ravi said, “when CPI(M) announced Mahajanapadayatra, a rally across the state protesting against TRS anti-people’s policies, K Chandrasekhar Rao called people to obstruct and question the participants everywhere. However, people ignored his call, and the rally was a major success.”

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The last protest held at the Dharna Chowk – ‘Occupy Dharna Chowk’ – was organised by the left parties – CPI(M), CPI, which ended with a lathi charge and arrests by the police.

Speaking to Newsclick, Kondal, Rythu Swarajya Vedika representative from Telangana, welcomed the decision of the high court. “Dharna Chowk has been the centre for distressed farmers to organise and demonstrate their demands to the government,” Kondal said. He added that the farmers’ organisations have faced difficulties in finding appropriate space to conduct meetings or demonstrations after the TRS government had undemocratically banned all union activities at the chowk. “We are planning to organise a public meeting at the chowk on November 27 to highlight the agonies of tenant farmers in the state,” Kondal said.

Telangana state has witnessed numerous protests from numerous sections of people including Anganwadi workers, contract workers, farmers, government employees, journalists, political parties, mass organisations, students and unemployed youth since its inception in 2014.

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