Last Updated: December 26, 2022, 17:29 IST
Telangana chief minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR). (Pic/Twitter)
The seven-member SIT was formed on Nov 9 by the KCR government to probe the alleged attempt of poaching ruling part MLAs
The Telangana High Court on Monday transferred the poaching case – lodged by four MLAs of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) – to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a big setback to the K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR)-led government. The HC also quashed the seven-member SIT formed by the Telangana government earlier this month to probe the alleged attempt of poaching ruling party MLAs.
BJP leader and advocate Ram Chander Rao welcomed the HC order. He said, “The high court transferred BRS MLAs poaching case to CBI. The high court has also quashed the SIT. We welcome the decision.”
BRS MLA Rohith Reddy, one of the four complainants in the poaching case, alleged that three individuals – Ramachandra Bharati alias Satish Sharma, Nandu Kumar and Simhayaji Swamy – offered him Rs 100 crore and in return the legislator has to leave the BRS, formerly knows as Telangana Rashtra Samiti, and contest as a BJP candidate in the next Assembly elections.
Reddy, a legislator from Tandur, and three other BRS MLAs had lodged an FIR regarding the matter on October 26. Following this, the accused trio was arrested and later granted bail by the Telangana High Court.
As per the FIR lodged, the accused asked Reddy to bring some more BRS MLAs by offering Rs 50 crore each to join the BJP.
Reddy was later served a notice by the Enforcement Directorate, following which the BRS legislator appeared twice before the agency. Last Monday, he said the ED officials asked him about his details and bio-data but did not tell him why they issued the summons.
Chief Minister KCR had also alleged that the BJP’s main motto was to dethrone the non-BJP-ruled state governments in the country. In November, during a press conference, KCR had said that he had sent videos spanning three hours containing evidence where middlemen were sent by the BJP in a bid to lure four ruling MLAs with Rs 100 crore, civil contracts and plum posts to make them switch sides to the BJP.
The BJP, however, denied all the poaching allegations and even called KCR an “actor” in the “political field” after he released the video of the party allegedly trying to poach BRS MLAs.
(With PTI inputs)
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