The Telangana Congress on Friday, January 7, demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conduct a thorough investigation into the alleged poaching of its MLAs, MPs, and MLCs by the erstwhile Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now Bharat Rashtra Samithi) between 2014 and 2019.
A delegation of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) led by A Revanth Reddy filed a complaint with the Moinabad police under Cyberabad police limits, seeking action against the BRS leadership, including chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, for allegedly poaching the Congress’ elected public representatives.
కాంగ్రెస్ నుండి టిఆర్ఎస్ లోకి ఫిరాయించి పదవులు,ఆర్థిక ప్రయోజనాలు పొందిన 12 మంది ఎమ్మెల్యేలపై మొయినాబాద్ పోలీసు స్టేషన్ లో ఫిర్యాదు
— Revanth Reddy (@revanth_anumula) January 6, 2023
సీబీఐ చేపట్టిన ఎమ్మెల్యేల కొనుగోళ్ల కేసు విచారణలో,మేం ఇచ్చిన ఆధారాలతో అవినీతి నిరోధక చట్టం కింద వారి పైన,వాళ్లను ప్రలోభపెట్టిన కేసీఆర్ కు శిక్షపడాలి pic.twitter.com/JL3qP1WDfr
“If the Moinabad police do not act on our complaint, we shall approach the court seeking transfer of the case to the CBI, as was ordered in the case of alleged attempt to poach four BRS MLAs,” Revanth Reddy told reporters after lodging the complaint.
In the complaint, the Telangana Congress alleged that soon after coming to power for a second term in December 2018 assembly elections, the BRS (then TRS) leadership lured as many as 12 Congress MLAs into the ruling party one after the other over a few months.
Lodged a complaint against 12 MLAs who were elected from @INCIndia & later turned away from @INCTelangana with evidence & urged @TelanganaCOPs to raise a case under ACB & attach it to the CBI with Probing the MLA buying out the case at a farmhouse@INCIndia @kharge @Manikrao_INC pic.twitter.com/wYhAD3MeNS
— Dr.S.A.Sampath Kumar INC (@SampathKumarINC) January 6, 2023
The PCC requested that the police combine their complaint with the previously registered FIR submitted on October 26, 2022, against three people on allegations of allegedly attempting to poach four BRS MLAs by bribing them with posts, contracts, and money.
The PCC demanded that cases be filed against the BRS leadership under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 171-B (bribery with criminal intent) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Sections 7, 8, 13, and 14 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
“We are not sheep or buffaloes to be purchased”, former Telangana Congress MLAs retaliated to poaching allegations
Notably, in 2019, the 12 MLAs of the Congress Party in Telangana who joined the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) retaliated to the allegation of their former party that they were lured by the TRS.
Refuting the allegations of the state leadership of the Congress Party, MLA Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy, one of the 12 MLAs, said that they were not sheep or buffaloes to be purchased. “Congress Party leaders’ comments are surprising. (They say MLAs) joined after being offered inducements, purchased, or out of fear. We are not kids to be made afraid. We are not the ones to fall for inducements. We are not sheep or buffaloes to be purchased”, said Reddy, adding that the MLAs merged with the TRS abiding by the Constitutional provisions.
