HYDERABAD: Speculation mill is working overtime in the ruling Congress over whether or not BRS working president KT Rama Rao will be arrested.
The state leaders wonder if the national leadership will green-light the arrest, given the political fallout the decision may have on the party’s image.
A section of leaders within the party believes that the high command was upset when HYDRAA was allowed to pull down the building of former Union minister MM Pallam Raju’s brother in Hyderabad and now it is open to question whether it would say yes to the arrest of the former minister.
A few Congress leaders are of the opinion that there was no question of the national leadership allowing the state leadership to pursue politics of vendetta against Rama Rao.
The party will wait for incontrovertible evidence to emerge against the BRS leader before clearing his arrest whether it is in connection with Lagcherla violence or Formula E race scam.
On other hand, a few senior leaders say that the high command was watching keenly all the developments in the state. They say the party leadership is seized of the import of BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao’s comments that the Congress government in the state will not last another six months.
Vicious campaign
The Congress leaders argue that the BRS was trying to destabilise the state government ever since the party came to power about 11 months ago. They say that the BRS has been targeting Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy with a vicious campaign.
Against this backdrop, they surmise the party leadership might give clearance to proceed against Rama Rao.
The leaders are also raising the Formula E race case and the BRS leader’s alleged role in the occurrence of financial irregularities in the release of `55 crore for the conduct of the event.
Governor’s nod
They say that the party high command is in the know of the case. The ACB has sought permission from the Governor for permission to prosecute Rama Rao in the case and that is where the buck has stopped.
There is a growing feeling that Rama Rao’s arrest may not happen till Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections scheduled to be held on November 20 as, if it happens, the BJP and its alliance partners might target the Congress that it was persecuting the Opposition leaders in states where it is in power.
After the elections, Revanth Reddy and TPCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud might visit Delhi to explain to the party high command the pros and cons if Rama Rao is arrested.
The leaders believe that the chief minister will be advised to proceed against Rama Rao only if there is a strong case against him and that under no circumstances the action against him should reek of pursuance of politics of vendetta.
