Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay’s arrest is part of conspiracy to defame BJP for SSC paper leak: Senior party leaders

Senior BJP leaders in Telangana said the arrest of Bandi Sanjay Kumar is part of a larger conspiracy to defame the party, and the central leadership has taken serious note of the incident.

Telangana BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar being detained by the police from his residence after midnight in Karimnagar, on April 5. | Photo Credit: PTI

The midnight arrest drama of Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar in Karimnagar by the police was an effort to frame him in the SSC examination question paper leak episode. It is part of a larger conspiracy to defame the party, and the Central leadership has taken serious note of the incident, informed senior BJP leaders here on Wednesday.

While Home Minister Amit Shah called up his colleague and Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development of Northeast Region G. Kishan Reddy to enquire about the incident, the latter in turn telephoned DGP Anjani Kumar to question the arrest.

BJP national president J.P. Nadda too called up senior advocate and former MLC N. Ramchander Rao seeking details of the arrest. National general secretary Tarun Chugh said the national leadership has taken note of the incident seriously.

“Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will pay heavily for his sins,” he said. Condemning the ‘illegal arrest’, he said it was evidence of the Chief Minister being rattled by the continuous exposure of his government’s failure to conduct even the 10th class exams without leaks. Telangana people will soon teach a befitting lesson to the despotic government, he said. Rajya Sabha MP K. Laxman and other party MPs held placards outside the Parliament, condemning the arrest and demanding Mr. Sanjay Kumar’s release. The party’s legal cell led by Anthony Reddy had also sought to move a ‘habeas corpus’ petition before the Telangana High Court Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan at his residence. Since it was a court holiday, even Mr. Ramchander Rao was house-arrested and prevented from moving towards Bommalaramaram where he was to move a bail petition at the local magistrate’s residence.

Mr. Sanjay’s arrest was condemned by party leaders across the State as “anti-democratic” and for the manner in which the State president and MP was being moved from place to place without assigning any reason for the arrest till late evening.

Party workers and leaders held protests and demonstrations at various places demanding the release of Mr. Sanjay. They raised slogans against Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his “draconian” rule and at a few places his effigies were also burnt. Senior leaders and MLAs like Eatala Rajender and others were put under house arrest and Dubbak MLA M. Raghunandan Rao held near the Bommalaramaram police station.

Later, Mr. Ramchander Rao wrote a complaint to the Bar Council of Telangana and Bar Council of India seeking action against the police officials concerned for obstructing him from seeking a bail petition on behalf of the party president thereby leading to miscarriage of justice. Mr. Anthony Reddy said legal action would be pursued against the police highhandedness.

Former MPs K. Vishveshwar Reddy, Dr. B. Narasiah Goud and others trooped to the State office to speak to the media and give vent to their anger over the manner in which the Karimnagar MP was being treated by the BRS government and prophesised that the end of the regime of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was near.

Towards dusk, Mr. Chugh held a video-conference with top leadership where it was also decided to take up protests and oaths throughout the State if the party chief is not released on Thursday.