Top sources in the Telangana government have reported to the media that a total of Rs 250 crore was allegedly offered as bribe to four Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLAs lured to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This revelation comes after a day after high drama unfolded at a farmhouse in Hyderabad over allegations of horse-trading by the BJP.
Moreover, the source further said, “Top leaders of the BJP including Amit Shah and BL Santhosh were mentioned during the negotiation that was held in Hyderabad.”
According to the source, while Pilot Rohith Reddy was allegedly offered Rs 100 crore, the other three MLAs Bheeram Harshavardhan Reddy, P Rega Kantha Rao, and Guvvala Balaraju were allegedly offered Rs 50 crore each. Rohit Reddy has already lodged a complaint, on 26 October, with the Rajendranagar Police accusing two persons – Satish Sharma alias Ramachandra Bharati and Hyderabad businessman Nandakumar – of having offered him Rs 100 core.
The highly placed source further said, “There is video and audio evidence which corroborates that this huge sum of money was offered. It is shocking.” The evidence is expected to be released to the public later on Thursday, 27 October, the source said. Moreover, the source added, “The accused have said that they negotiated the deal on behalf of BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah.”
The controversy erupted on 26 October when Cyberabad Police conducted a search at a farmhouse located in Aziz Nagar in Hyderabad where the four MLAs allegedly met with the three accused persons – Satish Sharma, Nandakumar, and Simhayaji Swamy. It is being claimed that Satish Sharma hails from Delhi and Simhayaji is from Tirupati. On Thursday, Cyberabad Police registered an FIR booking all the three under IPC section for criminal conspiracy.
According to the FIR, MLA Rohit Reddy has accused the three of not just offering him money but also “central government’s civic work contracts and high central government positions” in exchange of joining the BJP.
The FIR read, “They (Satish Sharma and Nandakumar) also stated that if he does not join the BJP, there will be criminal cases and raids by Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigations and Telangana government led by the TRS will be toppled by them.”
The BJP’s state unit has, however, vehemently refuted the claims made by Rohith Reddy. “The BJP does not do horse-trading. There has to be a basis for an allegation this big. But there is none. None of the accused individuals have any role in the BJP nor are they members of the party. Even if the names of our top leaders come up in whatever audio or video clip there is, they are merely allegations,” said Krishna Sagar Rao, spokesperson of Telangana BJP.
