NALGONDA: Breaking his silence on the alleged attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to poach four Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) legislators, party president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, on Sunday, said there was more evidence than what has already been made available to the public, so much that it could well ‘shake the gaddi (throne) in New Delhi’.
Addressing a public meeting at Bangarigadda in Chandur municipality of Munugode, he termed the bypoll scheduled for November 3 a golden opportunity for voters to teach a befitting lesson to the BJP for trying to purchase MLAs with crores of rupees to topple the TRS government.
“This is also a golden opportunity for Munugode voters to turn around the country’s politics and help lay the foundation for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS),” Rao said.
Parading the four legislators, who were allegedly approached with offers of money, contracts and protection by the BJP, the TRS chief said some “Delhi brokers” had tried to entice the MLAs and purchase the self-respect of Telangana but “the legislators slapped them in the face with their chappals”.
However, Rao did not elaborate further on the alleged ‘Operation Lotus’.
“I am in a responsible position as a chief minister. I will not speak much on this, as they will say we are influencing the investigation,” Rao reasoned but, in his inimitable style, likened BJP leaders to “snakes” and accused them of seeking to purchase MLAs like cattle in a shandy.
“There must be a thorough investigation into this (Operation Lotus). Those behind this must not continue in power for a minute,” Rao said and wondered if those close to RSS would try to buy TRS MLAs without Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s encouragement.
“From where did they get hundreds of crores? I want to ask, Narendra Modi garu, what more do you want? What could be bigger than PM’s position which you got twice? Why resort to these dastardly acts? How is it good for the country,” he asked and, at one point, thundered that the BJP government at the Centre must be thrown into the sea.“If the BJP secures even its deposit, they will isolate me and try to buy several MLAs,” he alleged.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also found fault with Modi for not deciding the share of Telangana in Krishna river waters, imposing five per cent GST on handloom products and for not utilising the 70,000 tmcft water available in the country for agriculture.
He warned the voters, “If you adorn these snakes around your neck, they will bite you... fix metres for agriculture motors. We have received a circular from the Centre that every domestic power consumer has to buy a new electricity metre at an estimated cost of Rs 30,000.”He alleged that the BJP government was trying to hand over the agriculture sector to corporates.