Police fired in the air to disperse protestors who tried to disrupt meetings of Telugu Desam president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Medak district on Thursday.
Chandrababu Naidu faced the ire of Telangana Rashtra Samithi supporters throughout his one-day tour of Medak, the home district of TRS founder and Union labour minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Naidu set out in a bulletproof air-conditioned car on his tour of drought-affected areas.
At his first stop at Toopran TRS workers, who raised slogans charging him with doing injustice to Telangana during his nine-year rule, heckled him.
At the next stop at Pothireddypet in Dubbak assembly segment, he faced the wrath of hundreds of TRS activists who had gathered to mark their protest against Naidu's 'anti-Telangana policies'.
As soon as he started speaking, the protesting TRS workers hurled slippers, eggs and tomatoes. None of this hit Naidu since security personnel, including National Security Guard commandos, surrounded him.
An enraged Naidu expressed anger at the policemen for not driving away the protestors.
When TRS workers began pelting stones and Telugu Desam supporters retaliated police swung into action.
The police lathicharged the mob. When the trouble showed no sign of abating, the police lobbed teargas shells and fired in the air.
In the melee, scores of people on both sides were injured.
Security men escorted Naidu to safety.
TRS leader T Harish Rao alleged that TDP had brought in anti-social elements from Hyderabad to create trouble by deliberately provoking TRS workers.
He claimed that the TRS activists merely retaliated when attacked by TDP supporters.
TRS is spearheading the movement for a separate Telangana state while the Telugu Desam is opposed to the demand.