Hyderabad: Plot thickens around the TRS MLAs poaching case as a Hyderabad court here rejected the plea of Telangana police for taking custody of the three accused even as Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao is expected to take the fight to Delhi today or tomorrow to take on the BJP national leadership directly.
The political developments have been swiftly changing especially after judge for anti-corruption cases, G Rajagopal, refused to grant custody of the accused but instead instructed the police to issue section 41 notice under CrPC before questioning them. The judge said the sections of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 would not be applicable in the case since no money has been seized from the spot.
Following the court's order, the police released the three accused, Ramachandra Bharati aka Satish Sharma, Nanda Kumar and Simhayaji Swamy. They were named as the accused after TRS Tandur MLA Pilot Rohith Reddy complained to the police that they had offered Rs. 100 crore to him and another Rs 50 Cr each to other MLAs if they resigned from the TRS to join and contest the next elections on the BJP ticket.
Also Read: Telangana: BJP's alleged move to buy four TRS MLAs for Rs 100 Cr; FIR lodged, farm house searched
The police laid a trap and arrested the three accused at the farm house of Rohith Reddy at Aziznagar in Moinabad near Hyderabad on Thursday. They were produced before the judge of the anti-corruption cases on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, the BJP demanded takeover of the TRS MLAs poaching case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to bring out the facts. The saffron brigade have claimed moral victory after the court rejected the police plea for custody of the three accused. They also claimed one of the accused has close relations with the ruling TRS leaders.
With the political drama blowing out of proportions, the TRS is giving hints that CM KCR will continue the struggle to expose the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the national stage. Political experts are not ruling out the possibility of the MLAs horse trading case taking centre stage in the coming Munugode byelection in Telangana.
Once he goes to Delhi, the TRS supreme is expected to once again accuse the BJP top leadership of conspiring to destabilise the non-BJP Governments across the country. Last October 5, CM KCR announced the formation of his national party, Bharat Rashtra Samiti, with the objective of rallying like-minded opposition forces all over the country to throw out the BJP Government at the Centre in 2024 elections. Prior to that, the TRS chief had tried to cobble together a united opposition front against the BJP at the national level.
