After using all the weapons to attack the Congress party since the last assembly elections in Telangana, Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders appear to be banking on kicking up the Telangana sentiment, by resorting to Andhra bashing all over again.
The statement made by firebrand BRS legislator Padi Kaushik Reddy, in a bid to attack Serilingampally MLA Arekapudi Gandhi, that the latter had come to Hyderabad as an Andhra settler but was trying to dominate Telangana leaders, seems to have caught the party on the wrong footing.
Gandhi, who defected from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi into the Congress in July, was in the thick of the controversy after his appointment as the public accounts committee (PAC) chairman recently.
Kaushik Reddy apparently tried to kick up the Telangana sentiment by questioning the background of Gandhi. “He has come to Hyderabad from Andhra in search of livelihood. But he has betrayed the Telangana,” he said.
The Congress did not lose much time in launching the counter-attack. “The BRS leaders are now insulting the Andhra settlers. Is it the policy of the BRS leadership towards the settlers? Let BRS president KCR give a clarification,” chief minister A Revanth Reddy demanded.
Former minister Danam Nagender said the BRS had won the seats in Hyderabad only because of the Andhra settler’s votes. “Now the party has started humiliating the Andhra voters,” he said.
Gandhi also claimed that he is still a member of the BRS in the state assembly, as per the assembly records. He said he won’t object if the BRS leaders come to his residence. “I shall discuss with them the affairs of the BRS,” he said.
He said he had no objection to coming to the residence of BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao either. “He claimed that if there is any problem for the settlers, he would be on the forefront to solve it,” Gandhi said.
Analysts say the BRS leaders have gone on the backfoot with the comments of Kaushik Reddy, as it would seriously affect the party prospects in the upcoming local body elections, particularly in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections next year.
So far, there has been no defensive statement from the BRS leadership. Maybe, they thought silence is the best way to avoid flaring up of sentiments.
