BJP demands fair probe in TRS MLAs’ poaching case, moves Telangana hc

The Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday approached the High Court seeking the transfer of a case pertaining to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLAs’ poaching allegations against the party to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to carry out a fair probe into the matter.
In a writ petition filed by BJP State General Secretary Gujjula Premendar Reddy, he claimed that the “bias and unfair investigation” being carried out is with the “sole intention of framing the leaders” of his party.
This comes a day after the TRS alleged that the BJP is attempting to poach the MLAs by luring them with money and contracts. The Telangana Police arrested three people who were found at the farmhouse in Ranga Reddy on Wednesday evening, after being informed by the TRS MLAs about the poaching bid, which the leaders alleged belonged to the BJP. The three accused were identified as Ramachandra Bharati, Nanda Kumar, and Simhayaji Swamy.
The BJP has moved to the Telangana High Court seeking a CBI probe into the allegations. “The above writ petition is filed complaining of bias and unfair investigation being carried upon by the respondents in FIR.No.455/2022 on the file of Moinabad PS with the sole intention of framing the leaders of the petitioner political party and damaging its reputation at the instance of the ruling party dispensation as being illegal, arbitrary, and in gross violation of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India and also contrary to settled principles of free and fair investigation,” the petition said.
The BJP linked the poaching allegations to the upcoming Munugude by-polls that are slated to be held on November 3, and said that the TRS has been “trying to disrupt the campaign” of the BJP while also making “several efforts to thwart the campaigning in the constituency”.
The petition stated that the complaint was “politically motivated” and that it had been made with a motive to “defame and demoralise” the BJP in the by-election of the Munugode Assembly constituency.
The petition alleged that the complaint was lodged at the behest of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and other state ministers and senior leaders of the TRS Party.
The petition stated that “The true facts and motive behind the above lodged complaint can only be unearthed by conducting an enquiry by the CBI or Special Investigation Team (SIT) as constituted by this Hon’ble court and in failing to do so, the petitioner party would suffer irreparable loss and hardship and would also impact on the mandate of the people in the ensuing by-election at Munugode Assembly,” the petition stated.
Earlier in the day, Telangana Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Thursday urged the TRS party workers to refrain from issuing any kind of statement to the media in regard to the MLA poaching allegations against the BJP as the investigation is in the “preliminary stage”.
Taking to Twitter to appeal to the party leaders, K.T.R said, “Because the MLAs trading case is in the preliminary investigation stage, I request TRS party leaders shouldn’t give any kind of statements to the media.”