KCR-BJP showdown touches a flashpoint with Bandi Sanjay arrest

The confrontation between the Telangana strongman and the Delhi rulers has shown no signs of abating ever since CM KCR formed his own national party to stop the saffron juggernaut in the 2024 polls. BJP MP Bandi Sanjay's arrest came a fortnight after KCR's daughter Kavitha was summoned by ED to Delhi in the liquor scam case.

Hyderabad (Telangana) : A fortnight after BRS MLC Kavitha appeared before ED in Delhi in the liquor case, the Telangana Police detained BJP MP and State unit president Bandi Sanjay with no clarity till now on the charges against him. The battle for one-upmanship between the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the centre has turned one more corner with the latest arrest.

The Police also arrested BJP Dubbaka MLA Raghunandan Rao when he tried to forcibly meet Bandi Sanjay at the Bommalaramaram police station. The BJP MLA along with his party leaders picked up an argument with the Police about why he was not being allowed to meet their party State President and in what case he was detained.

The BJP leaders alleged that Bandi Sanjay is now detained only to bar him from addressing a media conference on the 10th exam paper leak case. In the past, the BJP MP had called a presser and made critical remarks against the KCR regime for its alleged failure in the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) exam.

In that issue, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has issued notices to the BJP State President who did not appear personally but sent his legal representatives. Bandi Sanjay rose to prominence in the BJP Telangana unit because of his image as a sworn critic of the policies and strategies of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao and his son K T Rama Rao.

Venting out his anger in a tweet after his detainment today, Bandi Sanjay asserted that fear is real in BRS as they first stopped him from conducting a press meet and then arrested him late in the night. He said that his only mistake was to question the BRS government on its wrongdoings. Sanjay swore not to stop questioning BRS even if he was jailed and concluded his tweet with 'Jai Sri Ram ! Bharat Mata ki Jai ! Jai Telangana"

The BJP MP had also attached videos of the cops surrounding him, besieging his place and making his arrest. The BJP leaders questioned the rationale behind arresting their party state chief without assigning any reason. The videos showing the police forcibly lifting Bandi Sanjay went viral on social media.

It was on March 20 last that KCR's daughter K Kavitha was summoned to Delhi and questioned by ED in the Delhi excise policy case. Ever since KCR turned his TRS into a national party to mobilise anti-BJP forces, the confrontation between the Telangana strongman and the Delhi rulers has been intensifying steadily.