The Bharat Rashtra Samithi government in Telangana led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, which is fighting a legal battle in the high court against the alleged attempt to poach four MLAs by the Bharatiya Janata Party, had to face a counter-attack not from the BJP but from the Congress.
On Friday, the Telangana Congress party led by A Revanth Reddy filed a case against the BRS for allegedly poaching 12 MLAs who were elected on the Congress ticket in December 2018 elections and claiming them as its own.
Revanth, accompanied by Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and other senior leaders including Mahesh Kumar Goud, Sampath Kumar, Gaddam Prasad, Mallu Ravi, Malreddy Ranga Reddy etc. went to Moinabad police station and lodged a complaint.
The Congress leaders said the BRS had poached 12 Congress MLAs after the 2018 assembly elections.
They include Haripriya Banoth, P Sabitha Indra Reddy, Kandala Upender Reddy, Devireddy Sudhir Reddy, Rega Kantha Rao, Athram Sakku, Chirumarthi Lingaiah, Vanama Venkateshwara Rao, Beeram Harshavardhan Reddy, Jajula Surender, Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy and Pilot Rohith Reddy.
The complaint further said, ''TRS first formed the government in the state of Telangana in 2014. During their first term, a total of 4 MPs, 25 MLAs and 18 MLCs from various parties defected to TRS. The 12 defected MLAs were the primary members of the Congress party and had contested elections for legislative assembly of the state in December 2018.''
''Soon after winning the 2018 elections, the TRS started inducing through bribes/luring members, legislators of other parties including but not limited to INC of both Assembly as well as Legislative Council to discharge their duties improperly and dishonestly and join the TRS,'' the complaint said.
Revanth Reddy said instead of focussing on the adminstration, KCR has weakened the opposition and encouraged defections.
“Despite winning with absolute majority in 2019, there was no change in behaviour. He enticed everyone from ward members to parliament members,” he said.
However, one wonders whether the Moinabad police would take the complaint seriously at all.