Union Minister Kishan Reddy condemns Allu Arjun's arrest in theatre stampede case

Hyderabad, Dec 13: Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy has condemned the arrest of actor Allu Arjun for the recent stampede at a theatre in Hyderabad during the premier show of his movie ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ that killed a woman and injured her son.

He termed the arrest as irresponsible and unwarranted.

"The intent behind this arrest seems motivated as the organizers of the show claim to have informed the concerned authorities in advance. Moreover, the onus and responsibility of law & order lies with the police authorities and the arrest clearly intends to target an individual," Kishan Reddy posted on X.

"The arrest also reminds us the targeting and witch-hunting of cine artists in the state. I condemn the arrest and high-handedness of the administration," added Kishan Reddy, who is also the president of Telangana BJP.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has also condemned the arrest of Allu Arjun. BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao posted on ‘X’ that arrest of National Award-winning star Allu Arjun is the pinnacle of insecurity of the rulers.

Stating that he totally sympathised with the victims of the stampede, Rama Rao asked who really failed.

The former minister said that treating Allu Arjun as a common criminal is uncalled for especially for something he isn’t directly responsible.

"There is always space for respect and dignified conduct. I strongly condemn the high-handed behaviour of the government," wrote KTR.

“Going by the same perverse logic, Revanth Reddy should be arrested for causing the death of two innocent people who died in Hyderabad because of the fear psychosis caused by HYDRA,” the BRS leader added.

Another senior BRS leader T. Harish Rao has also strongly condemned the arrest of Allu Arjun. He asked who gave the permission for the benefit show.

The former minister also wanted to know who screened the movie without precautionary measures.

“It is unfortunate that a woman Revati lost her life when she went for the movie. The state rulers are responsible for this,” he said.

Harish Rao said action should be taken against the Congress government. He claimed that a former sarpanch of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s native village committed suicide and wrote in his suicide note that 'he was dying because of the harassment by Reddy brothers'.