Missing flagposts stun Telangana Congress chiefs

HYDERABAD: Telangana Congress leaders were taken aback on Monday morning when they found upon their arrival at the Gun Park opposite the Assembly, where Telangana martyrs’ memorial is situated, that the two flag posts there had been uprooted and removed allegedly by the police to prevent them from hoisting the national and Telangana flags there on the occasion of the Independence Day.When a group of leaders including MPs, MLAs and former ministers, visited the memorial, they found to their dismay that the poles meant for hoisting the national flag had been removed. On inquiry, they came to know that prior to their arrival, one inspector and one sub- inspector of police had gone there and prevented party workers from making arrangements for flag-hoisting without assigning any reason why the national flag should not be hoisted there. The police had their way and removed the poles.  The leaders, after their arrival, had two fresh poles erected and  unfurled the national flag as well as the Telangana flag. A livid K Keshava Rao said those who had objected to flag-hoisting by them were criminals. “I do not know if the police acted on their own or at the instance of the government. But objecting to hoisting of the national flag is a crime,” he said and wondered what kind of problem the police had anticipated if Telangana MPs, MLAs and former ministers went to the martyrs memorial to hoist the national flag.Nagarkurnool MP Manda Jagannadham demanded action against the two police officers on the ground that not allowing an Indian national to unfurl the national flag was a crime. “The entire area was barricaded as though we were going there to create some law and order problem. It was most unfortunate,” Jagannadham said, adding, “Every Indian citizen has the right to hoist the national flag on any day and not necessarily on Independence Day.’’