Telangana MLAs poaching: BJP's BL Santhosh summoned by probe team
The Telangana Police has summoned senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BL Santhosh for questioning as part of its investigation into the alleged case of poaching of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislators. In October, three alleged BJP members were arrested on accusations of offering money to four BRS legislators for joining the saffron party and contesting as its candidates in the upcoming elections.
Why does this story matter?
The BRS and the BJP have been at loggerheads for a long time, but the situation deteriorated since the latter allegedly tried to poach BRS members. The poaching allegations come amid rising political rivalry as Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, popular as "KCR," renamed the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to the BRS, aiming to take on the BJP in the 2024 general election.
BJP leader Santhosh asked to appear on Monday
BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) Santhosh has been asked by the Telangana Police to appear before the probe team by Monday (November 21). The notice served to him also warned of arrest if he failed to appear. The summons to Santhosh came days after the Telangana HC gave a go-ahead to the police investigation under a judge to monitor the probe into the case.
The case of poaching that heightened tensions
Last month, three people were arrested from the farmhouse of a BRS legislator in Telangana. KCR claimed that the trio belong to BJP and were offering money to the tune of Rs. 100 crore to four of his legislators to join the BJP. To back his claim, he said that he has three hours of hidden camera footage supposedly recorded by the legislators.
BJP has been trashing KCR's claims
Since the arrest of the three members, the BJP has been distancing itself from them and denying any involvement in the alleged poaching. In response to KCR's allegations, the BJP has alleged that the videos were recorded with the help of hired actors and termed them "staged." Moreover, Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar termed the incident a "drama" scripted in KCR's office.
Who are the three alleged agents of the BJP?
The three alleged BJP agents arrested for luring BRS legislators, who have since been granted bail, are Ramachandra Bharathi alias Satish Sharma, a priest from the Faridabad area of Haryana. Another accused was Nanda Kumar, who owns two restaurants in Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana. The third accused was identified as D Simhayaji, the pontiff of Srimanatha Raja Peetham in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
BJP demanded a CBI investigation into the case
Amid arguments and counter-arguments, the BJP has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the allegations for "neutral inquiry." The plea by the party was, however, rejected by the high court this week. A special investigation team (SIT) of the Telangana Police was formed to conduct the inquiry. An independent judge has been appointed to monitor the probe.
