Alleged poaching of 4 TRS MLAS triggers TRS-BJP slugfest

As the news about the police raid spread, several TRS leaders and ministers from across the state took to the streets to stage protests against the BJP. Some of them also staged a road blockade and also raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hyderabad:After the arrest of three people on Wednesday night for allegedly poaching 4 Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLAs,the ruling party TRS and the accused party BJP have entered a slugfest. As the news about the police raid at the Hyderabad bungalow spread last night, several TRS leaders and ministers from across the state took to the streets to stage protests against the BJP. Some of them also staged a road blockade and raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Alleging that the BJP was trying to topple the government in Telangana just as it did in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and other states by luring the MLAs, the TRS has claimed that each MLA was offered a deal to the tune of Rs 100 crore. Some of the TRS leaders also posted photographs of the accused with top BJP leaders, including Union ministers Rajnath Singh, G. Kishan Reddy, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to prove their point.

The BJP in response alleged that the TRS is insulting Hindu dharma by pointing fingers at godmen. Taking a dig at Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao, State BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that the 'story, screenplay and direction' at Moinabad farmhouse is by Chief Minister KCR. "It has boomeranged. TRS are complainants, TRS are victims and TRS are criminals," he said, further daring CM KCR to come to Yadadri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple and swear that he has not 'scripted this story'.

He also criticised KCR for dragging priests into the episode and alleged that he was attempting to taint the image of Hindu dharma. He further demanded for the CCTV footage of the hotel where TRS MLAs were staying and that of the Pragati Bhavan -- the official residence of the CM should be released. The BJP leader also wanted to know why the police did not record the statements of the MLAs. "Why weren't they taken to the police station but left to Pragati Bhavan? What were MLAs gunmen doing?" he asked.

Meanwhile, the police officials have geared up the investigation while the three accused are still in their custody. All three are being interrogated at different locations, while the police officials have also seized their mobile phones and other devices in an attempt to extract information. Shamshabad DCP Jagadishwar Reddy also took notice of the matter while the Moinabad police are already interrogating the arrested.

Three persons including two godmen were detained after being caught red-handed in a farmhouse while they were trying to lure the four MLAs with cash, important positions, and contracts. The Cyberabad police, during the raids, also seized cash in crores from the three accused who are from Delhi, Tirupathi, and Hyderabad. Cyberabad police commissioner Stephen Ravindra had confirmed that the raids were launched based on inputs from some TRS MLAs, the police conducted raids on the farmhouse and caught some people.

The three were allegedly trying to lure four TRS MLAs – Achampet MLA Guvvala Balaraju, Kollapur MLA Beeram Harshvardhan Reddy, Pinapaka MLA Rega Kantha Rao and Tandur MLA Pilot Rohit Reddy. According to police officials, some people from Delhi who have been camping in the farmhouse for the last two days were in touch with these four MLAs. On Wednesday, they were asked to come to the farmhouse to strike the deal.