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The Hindu
The Hindu
National
Special Correspondent

‘Official briefings only please!’

There was a lot of commotion outside as the BJP national office bearers and executive committee meeting began at the HICC-Novotel Hotel in Madhapur here on Saturday.

Even while most local mediapersons had to walk their way through the meandering route into the hotel with police stopping them and checking for passes at every check point, party leaders from across the country began to troop in in their vehicles.

As TV cameramen and reporters tried to swamp every leader thrusting mikes or cameras in front, they just smiled or did polite exchanges refusing to speak anything on the agenda as strict orders were said to have been given to keep the lips sealed.

Crestfallen mediapersons had to hang around the briefing centre seemingly for eternity when the first official briefing by BJP vice-president Vasundara Raje took place at 2 p.m. and the next briefing was by Union Minister Smrithi Irani four hours later. Only photographers were let in when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the meeting.

TS leaders shy away

None of the Telangana leaders were ready to have an official briefing and only exchanged pleasantries with known faces. Towards the end of the day, BJP Telangana unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar addressed a press conference in a last minute decision apparently to attack Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to address the delegates on Sunday and later the media will be briefed before the public meeting at Parade Grounds.

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