SIDDIPET: Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Thursday alleged that both the BJP and the Congress had forged a tacit and covert understanding to split SC votes in the Huzurabad byelection, with an intent to harm the interests of the TRS.
The Minister, addressing party workers after admitting several Congress and BJP workers from Huzurabad into the TRS fold at Siddipet, said though the two parties were resorting to unethical tricks, people were not naive to be carried away by their glib talk and shady political shenanigans.
He said that to hurt the TRS and benefit the BJP, the Congress was contemplating to field an SC leader from another constituency in the byelection to hijack a part of the SC vote bank and try to reduce TRS’ prospects which, he said, would not happen.
The BJP is also contemplating encouraging SC leaders to be in the fray to divide the SC votes as SCs have been rallying behind the TRS after the launch of Dalit Bandhu, he said. Harish Rao dared BJP leader Eatala Rajender and asked him whether he could go to the Prime Minister and make an argument for a package of Rs 1,000 crore for Huzurabad.