Hyderabad: Condemning the stripping of a tribal woman in Kothagudem district, the BRS working president KTR said that it was not law enforcement but brutality, it was not government but barbarism and asked Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge whether this is what the Congress had promised in Telangana.

Rama Rao referred to the ‘shocking and inhuman incident’ of assault on tribal women by forest officials in Irevandi village, Burgampadu Mandal, Bhadrachalam-Kothagudem district. Rao said, “The act of tearing saris off tribal women and beating them mercilessly is not law enforcement - it is brutality. It is not governance, it is barbarism. It is a direct assault on the dignity of women and the soul of democracy.”

KTR questioned the moral compass of the Congress government, stating, “In which democracy do uniformed officers attack unarmed women for simply protecting their land and identity? KTR demanded an apology from Congress party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Kharge. “Is this the Congress you promised to this nation? A government that strips and beats tribal women simply for defending their land? Is this your model of justice and equality? Your Chief Minister in Telangana is running a regime of fear where bulldozers replace dialogue, and tribal dignity is crushed under forest police officers’ boots. If you remain silent now, your silence will be seen as complicity.

The nation is watching. You owe the Adivasi/tribal women of Telangana not just an apology but action. Fire the guilty, apologize to the tribal families, and prove that Congress still has a soul left.”