Opposition slams Modi remark on Kavitha, calls it bid to cover up BRS-BJP deal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments in Bhopal against Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister and BRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao, drew flak in the state on Tuesday.

Congress and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) dubbed it as the “height of hypocrisy”. The spokespersons of both the parties said the prime minister apparently made the statement to enthuse the BJP cadre who were demoralised by the suspected deal between BJP and BRS in Telangana at a time when the assembly elections are just four months away.

Also read: Has Congress’s Karnataka win brought BRS, BJP together? KCR U-turn triggers buzz

Addressing a public meeting in Bhopal after flagging off Vande Bharat trains, Prime Minister Modi made a reference to Kavitha who had been questioned by Enforcement Directorate (ED) thrice in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam. Modi referred to Kavitha quite out of context, stating, “If you want K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter Kavitha to prosper, vote for Bharat Rashtra Samiti. If you want your daughter, son, grandson and grand-daughter to prosper, vote for BJP.”

‘Height of hypocrisy’

Former MP and TPCC senior vice-president  Mallu Ravi said it was the “height of hypocrisy” on the part of PM Modi to ask people to punish Kavitha by voting against her father’s party. “If the PM thinks she has done something wrong, he should let the central agencies prosecute her instead of asking people to defeat her party in the next election.”

Talking to The Federal, Ravi said Modi’s reaction indirectly vindicated the talk that BRS and BJP have struck a deal. His remark on Kavitha and the call to defeat BRS appeared to be his “desperate attempt to cover up the deal”, he added. “This is precisely the reason that the ED, after many rounds of questioning, ditched the investigation. It is not the Congress, but many senior BJP leaders suspect a deal. Those who joined the BJP, expecting that the party would work to defeat KCR, have lost hope now,” he said.

Also read: Opposition ‘obsessed with dislodging someone’: KCR’s son KT Rama Rao

Prof Kodandaram of Telangana Jana Samithi points to the timing of the PM’s remarks against BRS. “Amid this talk of rapprochement between BJP and BRS, the prime minister must have felt the need to allay the fear about the deal. Many BJP leaders feel that the ED’s move to go soft on Kavitha has weakened the party in Telangana. They think the BJP cannot be expected to give a genuine fight to KCR’s BRS and his family’s corruption,” he said. According to him, Modi’s remarks are clearly a reassurance to the BRS boss that his daughter would not be arrested in Delhi excise policy scam.

ED ‘soft’ on Kavitha

Meanwhile, the investigation into the role of Kavitha in the Delhi excise policy scam looks like a hide and seek game between Kavitha, who is also an MLC, and the ED. Many a times, she sought court intervention to avoid or postpone her appearance before the ED.

On the other hand, the ED on its part created unprecedented hype, fuelling speculations that her arrest was imminent. Even her father KCR also told a party gathering that he was expecting his daughter’s arrest. Surprisingly, there have been no summons now and the ED has turned silent, leading to the buzz that a deal was struck between BRS and BJP. Local media extensively reported that the chief minister of a neighbouring state had brokered the deal within days of Congress winning assembly polls in Karnataka.

Watch | Congress should shed arrogance, ask to join Third Front: BRS leader K Kavitha

BJP leaders upset

Senior BJP leaders such as former MPs Konda Visweswar Reddy, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy and former minister Eatala Rajender have reportedly conveyed their disapproval of the deal with BRS to the BJP high command. Many staunch critics of KCR in BJP are toying with the idea of quitting the party following dilution of the BJP’s campaign against KCR’s daughter’s role in Delhi excise policy scam.

Around the same time the KCR’s Maharashtra foray and his poaching of leaders from NCP, Shiv Sena and Congress led to the impression that BRS was working to weaken the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). NCP chief Sarad Pawar and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut have already dubbed BRS as “B team” of the BJP.