IT is usually said that everyone is equal before the law. But reality teaches us something else. In practice we find that law is not equal for the big and the mighty and the poor and vulnerable. If big people occupy government lands, the government tries to regularise them by bringing special government orders.  But if poor people demand 30 yards of land, they are branded as encroachers and their houses are razed to ground with bulldozers and their houses are set on fire to create fear. The government violates its own laws, and the law favours the government.  The police, as usual, implements the instructions received from above, and proves its loyalty.

For the last 30 days, thousands of poor people are fighting for house sites in Warangal and Hanumakonda districts under the leadership of CPI(M). Representations were given to the local authorities for regularisation of house sites. As there was no response, a call was given to organise a dharna on June 1 at district collectorates. In this background, local authorities demolished the temporary huts with bulldozers. Some huts were set on fire. They made the hut dwellers terrified. From the previous night, Party leaders and cadre who slept in the houses of the poor people were picked up and moved to police stations.  The district committee members and other leaders were taken into custody right from their homes since the morning of the dharna day. Left parties leaders were also among those arrested.  In spite of the obstacles created by the authorities and arrests, the hut dwellers resisted the police attack. Thousands of people came to the collectorates to join the protests. 

For having expressed solidarity to the struggling people,  Tammineni Veerabhadram, CPI(M)  state secretary and Central Committee member of the Party was arrested, along with P Sudarshan, Party state secretariat member. Veerabhadram was on his way to Warangal from Khammam, when he was arrested at Rayaparthi on the outskirts of Hanumakonda district. He was detained till five o’clock in the evening at Palkurthi police station. Police compelled him to go back to Khammam and prevented him from going to Warangal.  This action of police was condemned by all mass organisations of workers, peasants, women and others along with the Party.  Effigies were burnt to express resentment.  There were protest demonstrations condemning the arrests in all over the state.

The next day night, the police attacked hutments of the poor and beat them up indiscriminately. One of our cadre was badly injured in this attack. In this situation, Cherupally Sitaramulu, Party Central Committee member, S Veeraiah, state secretariat member, G Ramulu and Jagadish, state committee members visited Hanumakonda and extended their support to the struggle. They participated at a public meeting.  In Hanumakonda, residents got house sites because of big struggles, they asserted. The chief minister of Telangana promised double bedroom flats for all poor, then why the government is using repression against the poor they questioned. In Warangal, nearly 20,000-30,000 poor people are without proper houses, Ch Rangayya, Party district secretary told the gathering.  Residents of Asireddy Nagar, SR Nagar got their house sites because of big struggles in the past, he said.  Repression cannot stop the people from going forward in their fight for rights and better living conditions. CPI(M) leaders demanded house sites and double bedrooms for the homeless poor. CPI(M) assured that the Party will stand by the struggling people. The struggle for house sites still continues.