HYDERABAD: BJP leader and former MP AP Jithender Reddy on Thursday sparked a controversy by sharing a video of a man kicking a buffalo on Twitter, while suggesting that his party’s State leadership too deserves the same treatment.
The viral video shows a person kicking a buffalo in the butt to force it to climb into a pickup truck. While sharing the video, Jithender Reddy also tweeted that “this is the kind of treatment required for BJP’s Telangana leadership”.
Later, he clarified that by BJP leadership, he meant a section of leaders who were not unhappy with the party’s State leadership. He further said that those leaders needed to be given such treatment to ensure they “fall in line”.
Later in the evening, he addressed a public meeting held at Athmakur mandal headquarters in Wanaparthy district, just before BJP State president Bandi Sanjay’s speech. During his speech, Jithender Reddy ridiculed the talk of Congress gaining momentum in the State, and asked its leadership to announce their candidates in Makthal, Narayanpet, Mahbubnagar and Gadwal Assembly constituencies.
Bandi Sanjay, meanwhile, alleged that KCR has been conspiring to damage the image of the saffron party by planting stories in the media.
Sanjay, without directly referring to Jithender’s tweets, said that the Chief Minister was trying to create an impression in the minds of the people that there are differences in the BJP’s State leadership.
Responding to Jithender Reddy’s tweet, TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy said that it was a brilliant way of comparing and explaining to the people the internal strife within the State unit of BJP.