The core committee meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday saw the participants raising questions on the ‘friendship’ between the former and BRS, saying the perception of both the parties working together has dampened the spirits of BJP leaders and the cadre.
The meeting, which was attended by former Union Minister Prakash Javadekar and State BJP president G. Kishan Reddy, among others, sought clarity on the sudden change in the party’s attitude towards BRS. Some of them made clear that unless MLC K. Kavitha was arrested, people were not going to believe the party. After creating an impression that the BJP was serious about dealing with corruption allegations against the BRS, top leadership going back on it had sent the wrong signals.
Mr. Javadekar is said to have clarified that there was no understanding between the BJP and BRS. Regarding Ms. Kavitha’s arrest in the Delhi liquor scam, he said that law would take its own course.
Some members like Dr. Vijayarama Rao wanted the party to announce the tickets in advance. Others wanted clarity on election funding, which is very important, as the BRS has enough funds and would not be hesitant to spend hugely. However, Mr. Javadekar refused to get into a discussion on this and asked the leaders to focus on winning the polls.
Party leaders informed that the meeting decided to fight it out to protect Telangana from ‘family rule, nepotism and corruption’. The party would take up programmes starting from August 1 at the field level and intensify agitations against the BRS government. Senior leaders further said that BJP was the only alternative for BRS.
Several issues were also discussed, including holding meetings in Dalit bastis and exposing the BRS “which failed to keep its promises and how they were taken for a ride by the ruling party in the State”.
BJP leaders Bandi Sanjay Kumar, D. Aravind, Jithender Reddy, Vijayashanthi, Eatala Rajender, and M. Raghunandan Rao, among others, others attended the meeting.