Tension prevailed in Telangana’s Siddipet on Friday midnight after a face-off between Congress and Bharatiya Rashtra Samiti (BRS) workers during which BRS legislator T Harish Rao’s office was vandalised.

The situation escalated after Congress activists put up banners demanding the resignation of Siddipet MLA Harish Rao. A heated exchange ensued after BRS workers arrived to remove the banners.

The verbal altercation intensified near the MLA’s camp office, where Congress activists were staging a protest. The MLA alleged that Congress workers vandalised his office amid the high-voltage drama.

Police reached the spot as the situation turned violent, and members from both parties were detained.

A video shared by MLA Rao shows a group of people, purportedly Congress workers, destroying a flex board placed at his office. He also claimed that the Congress workers broke locks and vandalised the property.

Harish Rao responded through a post on X, saying, “Breaking locks and vandalising property in such a manner is not only undemocratic but also raises serious concerns”.

He added, “The police, rather than intervening to prevent this attack, seemingly protected the perpetrators. If an MLA’s residence can be targeted so brazenly, what assurance do citizens have about their own safety? The destruction of government property in the presence of police is utterly unacceptable.”

He urged Telangana’s top cop to take immediate action.

BRS working president KT Rama Rao slammed the Congress, questioning whether this was the “Mohabbat Ki Dukan” (shop of love) that leader Rahul Gandhi talks about. He condemned the attack as a cowardly act.

“On one hand, Rahul Gandhi talks about ‘Mohabbat Ka Dukan’ (shop of love), but his party is inciting violence under the guise of ‘Nafrat Ka Dukan’ (shop of hatred) in Telangana,” he said.

KTR further asked whether this is how Rahul Gandhi, who claims to be a protector of the Constitution, was safeguarding constitutional values.