BJP tries to \'buy\' 20-30 TRS MLAs, says Telangana CM

HYDERABAD: TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao broke his silence for the first time since the ‘poachgate’ controversy broke out last week, accusing the BJP and the RSS and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to “buy Telangana's self-respect” by hatching a plot to overthrow his government by luring fourTRS MLAs with crores of rupees.

He accused the BJP of 'trying to buy' 20 or 30 MLAs of the TRS and topple his government.

Addressing a TRS public meeting in Bangarigadda in Chandur mandal in the Munugode Assembly constituency, the CM presented the four TRS MLAs — P. Rohit Reddy (Tandur), Guvvala Balaraju (Achampet), B.Harshavardhan Reddy (Kolhapur) and Rega Kantha Rao (Pinapaka) — who were allegedly lured with Rs 100 crore each allegedly by the “BJP agents” at a farmhouse in Moinabad last week.

“But our sons of soil hit them with their left footwear saying they were not for sale,” the CM said. He alleged that the PM had backed a few RSS members who came to Hyderabad recently to buy "Telangana's self-respect", but they were caught and sent to Chanchalguda prison.

This is the first time the MLAs have been seen in public since the police raided the farmhouse in Moinabad on Wednesday night and detained the three accused for allegedly luring the four MLAs. The MLAs had been staying at Pragathi Bhavan since and arrived in Chandur along with the CM in a helicopter.

During the public meeting, the CM referred to the Telangana BJP's leaders as "Delhi brokers" and said they had tried to poach his party's MLAs who rejected the offer and exposed the covert operation.

"They have shown Telangana’s self-respect by rejecting the Delhi brokers' offer of Rs 100 crore for each of them and hoisting Telangana’s flag of self-respect flying as high as the Himalayas. Politics needs leaders like these," the CM remarked while appealing to the people to give them a big round of applause for “saving democracy.”

He said that Telangana's self-respect was not up for sale and challenged the PM to explain why he was hatching plots to overthrow democratically-elected governments.

“There is no position greater than Prime Minister of India, which is in itself a significant accomplishment. Modi was twice chosen by the public to serve as the Prime Minister. What else do you need? Why is he trying to overthrow governments by buying MLAs and MPs like animals in the market with crores of rupees of ill-gotten cash,” Rao asked.

“You have seen yesterday. (BJP thinks) there is one KCR who is talking loudly. Let's see his (political) end. They have sent brokers to buy each MLA for `100 crore. They wanted to buy 20 or 30 MLAs and topple KCR's government and encroach Telangana so that they can implement privatisation as per their will,” he said.

“Who provided Rs 100 crore that was offered to the MLAs? Inquiry has to be done into this. Who is behind the issue? Are they (whoever masterminded the issue) entitled to continue in their respective posts,” Rao asked.

Referring to audio and video clips of TRS MLAs and the “BJP agents” circulating in the media, Rao said, "What you saw on TV or read in newspapers for the past few days is only a tip of the iceberg. More audio and video clips will come out soon which will expose the unethical politics and conspiracies of BJP."

Stating that he would like not to speak much about the poaching of TRS MLAs because the matter is being investigated and is under the jurisdiction of the judiciary, the CM demanded a thorough investigation into the involvement of bigwigs in the covert operation and also interrogate the "BJP agents” and the source of the hundreds of crores of rupees used for attempting to buy the party’s MLAs.