Senior Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader and former state health minister Eatala Rajender on Wednesday refuted the reports that appeared in the media that he was going to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Speaking to a television channel, Rajender, who was sacked from the K Chandrasekhar Rao cabinet a few weeks ago over charges of land encroachments, said there was no truth in the reports that he was joining the BJP sooner or later.
He, however, admitted that he had met the BJP leaders but said it was only to seek their support for his future endeavours. He reminded that he had also met leaders of various other parties with the same objective.
The former minister made it clear that he would remain an independent and would not join any other party.
Rajender announced that he would resign from his assembly membership soon.
“I will come out with a decision in this regard at the earliest. I am planning to contest the by-elections to Huzurabad seat once again,” he said.
There were reports on Tuesday that Rajender had a secret meeting with senior BJP leaders including party national secretary Bhupendra Yadav and Union minister of state for home G Kishan Reddy at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Hyderabad, where they invited him to join the BJP.
Kishan Reddy, however, said he had only spoken to Rajender over phone and had not met him anywhere. He said he would meet the former minister very soon.