Bandi Sanjay Kumar, senior BJP leader and Union Minister of State, criticised the Congress-led Telangana government on Friday for arresting Telugu cinema star Allu Arjun in connection with the tragic stampede at Sandhya Theatre. In an offensive social media post, Kumar said the state government made such an arrest of the actor to distract people from their failures.
Kumar dubbed the Telangana Congress government’s actions as "Drama over delivery, diversion over governance," and claimed the arrest of the National Award-winning actor was merely an attempt to "steal the spotlight." He added, "While those who once misruled and looted the state walk free, they arrested a National Award-winning actor to steal the spotlight. Sensationalism won't hide their incompetence. The whole nation saw through Congress' desperate drama!"
The arrest of Allu Arjun followed the tragic stampede at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad on December 4, which occurred during the premiere of his film Pushpa 2: The Rule. The chaos resulted in the death of 35-year-old Revathi and injuries to her son. Authorities later filed charges against Allu Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management, citing unsafe crowd management as a contributing factor to the tragedy.
However, the Telangana High Court intervened and granted interim bail to the actor just hours after his remand to 14-day judicial custody by a lower court. The court allowed him to be released on a personal bond of Rs 50,000. In addition, the management of Sandhya Theatre was also granted interim bail.
The arrest, which sparked widespread political debate, has drawn attention to the state government’s handling of the incident. Allu Arjun’s legal team maintained that the actor had no knowledge or intent to cause harm and argued that the charges against him were unfounded.
The stampede, which occurred when fans rushed to see the actor, has raised serious concerns over crowd control and safety protocols at such public events.
