BJP imposes gag order on state leadersin Telangana

 Hyderabad: The Telangana BJP on Tuesday made it clear that party leaders speaking out of turn, whether on or off the record, and washing dirty linen in public, will no longer be tolerated. “No more will such statements or comments be taken kindly,” state BJP general secretary G. Premender Reddy warned.

Passing a gag order on party leaders from airing their grievances in public, he made it clear that the BJP won’t hesitate in ousting such leaders. Addressing a press conference along with party’s national SC Morcha secretary S. Kumar and state vice-president K. Venkateswarulu, he said the BJP does not differentiate between the old and the new.

With the state BJP viewing that the party's old guard is asserting itself, Reddy said, “Everyone must follow party discipline. In the past, action was initiated against many senior and top leaders when they crossed the line. Moreover, anything spoken off or on record is blown out of proportion by Congress and BRS. So, there will be no public talk anymore.”

The warning came a day after comments attributed to Dubbak MLA M. Raghunandan Rao that were seen as a direct attack on party’s former state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar and the party leadership in Telangana made the rounds. Earlier, Etela Rajendar’s comments on party’s internal matters had also embarrassed the BJP.

“The attack on Bandi Sanjay was an insult to him. It was a conspiracy to weaken the party by attacking the state president. All of us condemn such activities,” S. Kumar said.

Venkateswarulu said, “It is sad that chit chats and off-the-record comments by some leaders were leaving party cadres flummoxed. Issues related to seeking posts or of complaints that that can be discussed with senior leaders should remain within the four walls. There was a time when BJP suspended 32 MLAs in Rajasthan for crossing the limit.” he said while rattling off names of senior and one-time influential BJP leaders, including Uma Bharati, who faced the disciplinary axe.

“There is no place for personal opinions in the BJP,” Venkateswarulu said, adding that “no leader has the right to express his or her dissatisfaction or angst in public. All must follow party protocol and no exceptions will be made. When newcomers were handed posts, none complained as we are disciplined. The national leadership takes the right decision at the right time.”