BJP Rajya Sabha member and national OBC morcha president K. Laxman and other leaders at a dharna against the government in Hyderabad on Friday.
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
BJP Rajya Sabha member and national OBC morcha president K. Laxman lambasted Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for “being mum” on allegations of phone-tapping against several citizens, including politicians, during the BRS rule under Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
“The Chief Minister himself suffered under the KCR regime and was even put in jail as his daughter was getting married. But, why is he keeping quiet after promising to get to the bottom of the phone-tapping issue, unearth the corruption behind Kaleshwaram LIP and Dharani revenue portals?,” he asked.
Addressing a protest meeting at Dharna Chowk, Indira Park, on Friday, Mr. Laxman wondered why no action was being taken against KCR and ex-Minister T. Harish Rao, even after the arrested police officials named them in their confessions. “Is it because of the secret deal between the Congress high command and BRS leadership to oppose PM Narendra Modi?”, he sought to know.
Mr. Laxman challenged the Chief Minister to hand over the cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) if he has the “guts or face political oblivion for ‘pussy-footing’ in acting against the main conspirators behind phone-tapping, which he described as danger to the nation’s security”.
The BJP leader stated that the entire nation has been shocked by the sensational disclosures by the arrested police officials involved in the illegal phone surveillance. The then government had wanted to trap senior party leader B.L. George in the MLA poaching case and trade it off with the purported arrest of BRS MLC K. Kavitha but it did not succeed, he pointed out.
“KCR had run the government by misusing the police department and official machinery in a dictatorial manner. Those taking up public causes were targeted while those tapping were involved in blackmail and extortion. Police vehicles used to transport money to help the ruling party during the bypolls shows the depth to which the BRS government had sunk into,” he said.
“Police used snooping to blackmail and extort money. This is a threat to the country’s security and KCR government had done which no government has done in the last 75 years,” he added.
The MP observed that Congress has come to power by spreading a “false narrative” of BRS and BJP being on the same side besides people’s disgruntlement towards the KCR government along with making all kinds of promises to different sections of people.
Farmers’ problems
“All the guarantees and promises made have been kept in the attic with shifting timelines including farm loan waiver and bonus of ₹500 per quintal for paddy farmers. Farmers, women and unemployed youth are sure to teach a lesson with the results of the LS elections by supporting the BJP,” he said.
Former MPs B. Narasaiah Goud, K. Visheshwar Reddy, MLA Payal Shankar, and general secretary K. Venkateswarlu, took part in the protest.
