TRS MLA ‘poaching’: BJP gives 'screenplay credit' to KCR, demands probe

A political fracas broke out between the TRS and BJP after an alleged poaching episode unfolded in Hyderabad on Wednesday night.

While the TRS leaders accused the BJP of trying to destabilise the K Chandrashekar Rao government, the BJP leaders called it an elaborate but badly scripted drama by KCR to defame the saffron party ahead of the Munugodu bypoll on November 3.

With the high-stakes bypoll in Telangana politics just a week away, the Cyberabad police, late on Wednesday evening, detained three men—two “swamijis” from Faridabad and Tirupati and a Hyderabad-based businessman—on charges of attempting to bribe four TRS MLAs with huge amounts to change sides.

Alleging the BJP was behind the inducement, TRS cadres burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Munugodu, while raising anti-BJP slogans.

Cyberabad Commissioner Stephen Raveendra said the police action against the three men was taken following a tip-off from one of the TRS MLA “Pilot” Rohith Reddy, who complained that Ramachandra Bharti aka Satish Sharma, a native of Delhi, and Nanda Kumar from Hyderabad had approached him with an offer of Rs 100 crore, besides good positions and prospects like central government civil works contracts, if Reddy ditches TRS.

Read | Protests in Telangana over 'BJP's bid to buy TRS MLAs'

In the copy of the First Information Report accessed by DH, Reddy had complained that the two men had contacted him again on Wednesday and said they would come and meet him at his farmhouse at Moinabad for further negotiations. They also told him to mobilise some more TRS MLAs, and allegedly offered a bribe of Rs 50 crore each to join BJP.

The police swooped down on Reddy’s farmhouse near Hyderabad and reportedly took Bharti, Kumar and another person Simhayaji Swamy into custody. Four TRS MLAs, Guvvala Balaraju, Rega Kantha Rao, Harshvardhan Reddy and Rohith, were present there at that time.

No cash seizures were shown.

The MLAs later rushed to Pragathi Bhavan, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s camp office, and held marathon discussions.

On Thursday, the Telangana BJP called the “bribing MLAs and late-night police action” episode an elaborate drama, ideated and executed under the directions of TRS supremo and chief minister, KCR, “who fears a loss in Munugodu.”

“Story-screenplay-make-up-direction, this is a vinta-naatakam (a strange drama) put up shamelessly by KCR. Where has the cash gone? And where has it come from in the first place—Pragathi Bhavan, (KCR’s camp) farm house? Why are the police not interrogating the MLAs? Why was the money not handed over to the I-T” questioned union tourism minister G Kishan Reddy.

Reddy, who is also the BJP MP from Secunderabad, said the poaching of four MLAs would not be of any use to the BJP, when the elections are just a year away, for which their party has been preparing well in order to come to power.

“The accused men have no connection to the BJP. We are demanding an investigation by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or the CBI into the matter, so that the KCR-TRS conspiracy would come out,” the union minister said.

Reddy also displayed photos of Nand Kumar with several TRS leaders including Rajya Sabha MP and KCR’s close relative Joginapally Santosh.