HYDERABAD: Notwithstanding the rebuttals from Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and BRS working president KT Rama Rao during the course of the day, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday continued his relentless attack on the BRS and BJP, accusing them of working together to thwart his government’s attempts to ensure justice is served in the scams committed by the previous regime.
The result was a three-way slugfest, with KT Rama Rao and Kishan returning fire at Revanth. This has effectively led to what began as a street-corner broadside from the chief minister spiralling into a full-blown political dogfight, with each camp trying harder to prove the other’s “secret friendship”.
Responding to Kishan’s rebuttal on Wednesday, Revanth said that the BJP leader should talk to his “elders” — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah — over the registration of an FIR against KCR in the Kaleshwaram irregularities case.
Earlier in the day, Rama Rao led the counterattack, dismissing Revanth’s remarks made on Tuesday as “ignorant” and daring him to “come and arrest me if you have guts”. The BRS leader asserted that the Governor had already permitted prosecution in the Formula E race case and that a chargesheet was filed.
Kishan sought to cool the rhetoric, saying the Union government never promised to “jail KCR” and had no role in arrests or judicial processes. On Revanth’s charge that the Centre was influencing Governor Jishnu Dev Varma to stall Rama Rao’s prosecution, Kishan countered that the Governor was “acting within his constitutional powers” and that there was “no political interference”.
The twin rebuttals came a day after Revanth accused the BJP-led Union government of shielding BRS leaders and claimed that the Kaleshwaram probe was being deliberately delayed. He alleged the BJP was planning to transfer its votes to the BRS in the byelection.