Hyderabad: The tussle between left and right in Kerala had its echo in Hyderabad, with the Telangana government denying the Communist Party of India — Marxist (CPM) permission to hold a rally at the Nizam college grounds.
The move followed a threat by a local BJP legislator, Raja Singh, to disturb the rally if Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan addresses it.
Singh threatened to disrupt the rally in protest against the attacks on the RSS and BJP members in Kerala.
In light of the government decision, the CPM has shifted the venue of its rally to Saroornagar Indoor stadium on the outskirts of the city.
The Left party has lashed out at the TRS government’s failure in dealing with the BJP’s threat to disrupt its programme, and the cancellation of police permission which had already been granted.
CPM state committee member B. Venkat said the party wanted to challenge the restriction in the High Court but changed its mind as it would be a time consuming affair.
The rally marking the conclusion of a statewide Padyatra — or marathon walk, by state CPM secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram — will be addressed by Vijayan, general secretary Sitaram Yechuri and other prominent leaders of the party and its social and cultural front organisation.
This is the first major programme the party has organised in the state since bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and the 2014 elections, in which the party was wiped out as it had opposed the idea of a separate Telangana.