The early morning arrest of Telangana Joint Action Committee chairman Prof M Kodandaram by the Hyderabad police who thwarted his attempt to take out a rally of the unemployed youth might have brought a big relief to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
But analysts say it has also caused a severe dent to his image for not allowing a democratic space to his critics.
The way hundreds of police led by Hyderabad East Zone deputy commissioner of police V Ravinder stormed the residence of Kodandaram at Tarnaka at around 3 am, breaking open the door and forcibly taking him into preventive custody only showed the dictatorial attitude of the KCR government, analysts say.
The hashtag #KCRfailedTelangana has become trending in the social media since Wednesday morning, indicating the huge anti-KCR feeling spreading among the youth.
Even those who are hardcore loyalists of KCR felt that he should have allowed the rally to take place and it would have fizzled out anyway.
“The incident has led to the talk among the people that whoever spoke against the government will have to face serious trouble. And that there has been no difference between the previous Andhra government and the present Telangana government in unleashing a reign of terror on democratic protests,” an analyst said.
