HYDERABAD: BJP’s central leadership has taken the arrest of BJP State President Bandi Sanjay from his in-law’s residence in Karimnagar late on Tuesday very seriously. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda have been taking regular stock of the situation from Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy.
BJP MP Soyam Bapu Rao gave notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker on Wednesday, to move a privilege motion against the police for not informing the Speaker before arresting Sanjay, and for not honouring the privileges enjoyed by him as an MP.
The strongest condemnation, which was more like a warning to the BRS government came from BJP national organising general secretary BL Santhosh, who tweeted minutes after Sanjay’s arrest that it has touched a raw nerve and that this action will be the last nail on the political existence of the pink party.
“Rattled, riddled with corruption charges, facing electoral reverses @BRSparty & its leadership is a sinking boat,” he tweeted.
Terming the implication of Sanjay in the SSC Hindi question paper leak in Kamalapur Government Boys’ High School as Accused No. 1 (A-1) as a larger conspiracy to defame the BJP, the party’s national general secretary and the Telangana in-charge Tarun Chugh said that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was unable to realise that the people of Telangana wouldn’t believe his false and imagined story.
Noting that despite Parliament being in session, and despite that Sanjay was an MP, the police failed to either show an FIR, arrest warrant or even give an explanation for his arrest, Chugh alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was trying to divert the attention of the people from the recurring incidents of question papers being leaked in the State.
“KCR is in panic due to his popularity eroding fast. He is acting out of desperation, despair and with a vindictive mind, is now resorting to undemocratic and repressive measures to suppress the voice of BJP,” Chugh said. He asserted that the BJP will continue agitating against the “dynastic, dictatorial, arrogant and corrupt BRS government”.
Observing that democracy was finished in the State, Chugh said that lakhs of activists were with the BJP and that the time had come to bid the BRS a farewell. During separate video conferences he held with the State leaders, district in-charges, and presidents on Wednesday, Chugh announced that the party’s booth-level workers will take a mass pledge on BJP’s formation day on Thursday.
Speaking to the media, Kishan Reddy said that politicians receive videos and messages from various sources like journalists, activists, and others, and questioned how Sanjay could be singled out and implicated in the case.
On the allegation that Sanjay conspired with former journalist Prashanth to leak the Hindi question paper, Kishan said that as per police’s own submission, Sanjay received the paper on WhatsApp at 11.30, after the exam began.
BJP MP K Laxman wondered how the CM was trying to garner the support of anti-BJP forces by assuring them of funds and urging them to treat him as an Opposition leader while neglecting the students who are worried about repeated question paper leaks in the State. During the day, protests were held across the State against Sanjay’s arrest. BJP workers burnt an effigy of the State government at Nampally.
In fact, the police faced a tough time shifting Sanjay to court, with BJP activists obstructing them. The police had to resort to force by arresting the BJP activists. In almost all the districts, top BJP leaders were either put under house arrest or taken into preventive custody.
Complaints
An SSC student Bade Sirivennela from Godavarikhani on Wednesday lodged a complaint with the Godavarikhani II-Town police requesting stringent action against those who leaked the question paper. Another SSC student Vishnu Charan also complained to the police against BJP State President Bandi Sanjay.