Telangana BJP chief Ramchander Rao placed under house arrest ahead of protest over Women’s Reservation Bill

HYDERABAD: Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao on Saturday was placed under house arrest by police in Hyderabad after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called for a protest outside the residence of Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy over the Congress party’s stand on the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament.

According to sources, the protest was planned to oppose the alleged lack of support by the Indian National Congress for the Women’s Reservation Bill during proceedings in Parliament. Condemning the police action, Ramchander Rao criticised his house arrest and termed it an attempt to prevent a democratic protest.

#WATCH | Hyderabad: On Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi’s statement, Telangana BJP President N Ramchander Rao says, “Priyanka Gandhi’s statement is very disgusting. She, being a woman and that too, a woman parliamentarian, has today blocked the entry of the common woman into the… pic.twitter.com/ukC2YiyGvc

— ANI (@ANI) April 18, 2026

Earlier, Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, also staged a protest in Hyderabad on Friday evening, where they burned an effigy of Rahul Gandhi and targeted the Congress party over its stance on the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament.

This comes after the BJP and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners on Friday announced a massive, nationwide protest campaign targeting the opposition.

According to top party sources, the BJP directed its state units to organise coordinated demonstrations at all district headquarters across India. The campaign aims to “expose” the opposition’s role in stalling a historic leap for gender equality.

The protests aim to mobilise public opinion in favour of the bill and underscore the government’s commitment to increasing women’s participation in legislative bodies. The NDA has decided to launch a countrywide protest against the opposition parties starting today. All member parties have been instructed to campaign via social media, street protests, and any other means they deem fit.

This move comes after the BJP-led government attempts to pass the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha. The bill received 298 votes in favour and 230 against, falling short of the constitutional threshold, as announced by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

The proposed legislation was part of a broader package of three bills, including the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, aimed at operationalising the Women’s Reservation framework from the 2029 general elections.

However, opposition parties opposed linking reservation with delimitation and census exercises, arguing that the women’s quota should be implemented immediately. (ANI)