Ban Tamilisai From Campaigning, BRS Urges ECI

 Hyderabad: The running battle that the BRS had when it was in power in Telangana with the then governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan appears to have spilled over into the Lok Sabha election season. The BRS, on Wednesday, in a complaint to the Election Commission of India (ECI), demanded her debarment from campaigning for the BJP as she violated the Model Code of Conduct for elections.

Since Dr Tamilisai was campaigning for G. Kishan Reddy, the BJP candidate from Secunderabad at the time of the MCC violation, the BRS also demanded that Kishan Reddy be disqualified from contesting the Lok Sabha election.

The BRS said Dr Tamilisai sought votes for Kishan Reddy in the name of religion by distributing in MLA Colony of Secunderabad constituency, miniature replicas of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. It said distributing religious symbols such as replicas of Ram Mandir for political gain is a blatant violation of the MCC which prohibits the use of religion for electoral purposes.

“This action not only undermines the principles of free and fair election but also seeks to leverage religious sentiments to influence voters to favour a particular party and candidate,” the BRS said in its complaint. For her actions, the BRS said the ECI should bar Dr Tamilisai from campaigning and also disqualify Kishan Reddy’s candidature as he is the intended beneficiary of the former governor’s campaign for the BJP.