Telangana MLAs' bribery case: Leaked clip adds another twist

With the ACB court rejecting police remand for the accused in the TRS MLA’s bribery case, the BJP on Friday (October 28) upped the ante,  demanding the Cyberabad police to present evidence for the alleged attempt by the saffron party to lure the MLAs with ₹100 crore bribe.

State BJP president Bandi Sanjay asked CM K Chandrasekhar Rao to swear by Yadagiri Gutta’s Lord Lakshminarasimha Swamy that he had no hand in the farmhouse episode.

Sanjay, who came to Gutta to perform Puja at the temple, asked the CM to come down and prove his innocence before the Lord.

Meanwhile, protests and counter-protests are being staged across the state by the workers of TRS and BJP. While BJP burnt the effigies of KCR, the TRS targeted Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Audio clip surfaces

Amid the din, an audio clip with bits of the conversation that took place between MLA Pilot Rohit Reddy and Ramachandra Bharati surfaced.

Also Read: Munugode bypoll: BJP releases manifesto taking Congress and TRS by surprise

The unauthenticated audio is believed to have been recorded before October 24. In what appears to be a cordial chat in the audio clip, Rohit Reddy admitted that two more MLAs were ready.

Incidentally, there was no talk of money or deal in the conversation. There is a reference to the November 3 polling of the Munugode byelection and a talk of moving forward before it.

All agreed to meet on November 25/26. Rohit was heard stating that instead of trying for more MLAs, it would be better to deal with the present three. Given CM’s aggressive attitude, they would be ‘targeted’ if it was leaked, Rohit was apprehensive.

A new name also cropped up in the conversation, and it was DL Santhosh who was introduced as the organising secretary who handles all the matters related to the formation of governments. Rohit was told that Santosh is from the ranks of RSS.

Also Read: Former TRS MP Boora Narsaiah Goud to join BJP on Oct 19

Political circles believe that the conversation was recorded by government sources and was deliberately leaked to warn the other MLAs that their phones were under surveillance. Incidentally, all TRS MLAs were barred from talking to the media.

No material evidence for bribery charge

After the first setback in the ACB court on Thursday (October 27), the police on Friday moved a lunch motion in the High Court for the remand of the accused Ramachandra Bharati, Nandakumar and Simhayajulu.

Rejecting the appeal, the ACB court squashed the arrest, stating that there was no ground for the arrest as the police could not produce any material evidence for the charge of bribery.

The court also stated that as per the procedure, the accused ought to have been served with notices under 41A CRPC for an investigation. The setback for the police at the entry level itself emboldened the BJP to launch a counter-offensive.

Now it is learned that the police have slapped a notice under 41A to the accused to present themselves before the Investigating Officer.

Also Read: KCR’s TRS turns BRS: Masterstroke or misadventure?

On the other side, Nandakumar, one of the accused, after his release, said he was at MLA Rohit Reddy’s farmhouse to perform a puja called Samrajya Lakshmi.

“We visited the farmhouse at the request to perform the puja. We did not know the reason for the puja. Munugode election might be the reason. We did not have any knowledge about the bribery and politics involved in it,” Nandakumar told the media.

Plan to topple KCR government

The issue has taken a new twist, with TRS alleging that offering ₹100 crore to each MLA was part of a larger game plan to topple the KCR government in a Maharashtra-like conspiracy.

According to TRS senior leader and state planning board vice chairman B Vinod Kumar, the BJP was trying to lure more MLAs and conduct byelections in the state to destabilize the government.

“The claim by BJP leaders that few more byelections are expected in the Telangana after Munugode bears testimony to the conspiracy,” he said.

Refer matter to CBI: BJP urges EC

The BJP, however, urged the Election Commission to refer the matter to CBI for a thorough inquiry.

Also Read: Telangana: To bolster Delhi dream, KCR gives national touch to TRS

“Even before the police had arrived at the farmhouse, certain news channels were already present at the farmhouse and were telecasting live pictures from the farmhouse. It looks like a well-orchestrated event at the behest of Chief Minister KCR and ministers. So, we urged the EC to institute an independent inquiry or a probe by CBI to bring the real culprits to book,” Rachana Reddy party leader and advocate told The Federal.