HYDERABAD: Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Huzurabad byelection in-charge and former MP AP Jithender Reddy has landed his party in an embarrassing situation by stating that it wouldn’t mind spending money and offering liquor during the bypoll. He made these comments in an interview to a Telugu news channel.
In the interview which was uploaded on YouTube, when the interviewer asks Jithender Reddy if Eatala Rajender would win the ensuing Huzurabad byelection without spending money, the latter states, “We will spend money if we are required to. We are not disputing it. We never said that we will not do so. For instance, a person needs food thrice a day and if anyone has the habit of drinking (alcohol) we will provide it, but not till he throws up, overwhelmed by the drink.”
However, he was not clear on whether the saffron party would offer liquor to voters or his party cadre. When asked to clarify, he left it to the interpretation of this reporter. When further asked how he would justify his words as it would hamper the objective of a “free and fair election”, the former parliamentarian said: “What is there to justify? When I said money will be spent, it could be for the purpose of filling fuel in the vehicles or feeding people.”