HYDERABAD: Leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party who have been busy with ‘party activities’ appear to have ignored the plight of the rain- and flood-hit people in the state. Unlike in the past when its leaders and workers would fan out to help victims of such natural disasters, this time round, they ignored even a call by their state president G. Kishan Reddy to step out and help those in need.
On Thursday morning, Kishan Reddy called on party ‘karyakartas’ “to provide necessary support in the relief works in your respective localities wherever it is required.” In a tweet, Kishan Reddy called on people to stay safe and not venture out unless necessary as the state was expected to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall.
However, Kishan Reddy’s call did not appear to have found any takers in the party amidst increasing perceptions that the BJP was reluctant to really take on the BRS and that these two parties are together as claimed by the Congress. Meanwhile, some leaders said they highlighted the government’s neglect of the people, and some others reported that they spoke with local administrations and asked officials to ensure all help is provided to the needy.
Huzurabad MLA Etala Rajendar in a message on Twitter in the evening also urged party workers and followers to help the needy adding that he spoke with officials asking them to provide help to those hit by the rains. Former state BJP chief and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, attending the ongoing Parliament session in New Delhi tweeted that he spoke with Karimnagar district officials to enquire about the conditions and called on them to assist people.
Also in Delhi, Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri slammed the state government, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, and minister K.T Rama Rao saying they should step out and see the ground situation of washed away roads, and floods for themselves and do something about it.
Later in the afternoon, Kishan Reddy demanded the immediate withdrawal of police cases filed against BJP workers over the issue of the desecration of a Chatrapati Shivaji statue in Gajwel in the first week of July. Kishan Reddy, who met with some of the arrested party workers who were released on bail in Gajwel, said the BJP condemned the act by the police of arresting those who protested the desecration instead of taking action against those who committed the crime.
Gajwel is in Siddipet district and falls in Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s constituency.
