Telangana Police has arrested BJP leader Jitta Balakrishna Reddy for allegedly making a provocative speech against Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, and has also booked state BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar in the case.
Mr Reddy was arrested at Ghatkesar toll gate in the early hours of Friday by the Hayathnagar police.
It was alleged that on June 2, the Telangana BJP unit, under the leadership of Bandi Sanjay and others, organised an event in view of the Telangana Formation Day and "misused the dais and played a skit (hate act) with the help of the BJP cultural team".
According to police, the skit insulted a person who holds a constitutional post and was democratically elected by the people of the state.
In viewing the said skit, the complainant, Y Sathish Reddy, member of TRS Social Media wing has lodged a complaint along with the video footage at Hayathnagar Police Station, stating that Bandi Sanjay, Jitta Balakrishna Reddy, Rani Rudrama, Boddu Yellanna alias Daruvu Yellanna and his team had "defamed the government schemes with false accusations about the CM and the government with an intention to mislead the people and provoke hatred and unrest".
Following the complaint, a case has been registered in Hayathnagar Police Station against Bandi Sanjay, Jitta Balakrishna Reddy, Rani Rudrama, Boddu Yellanna, Daruvu Yellanna and his team under various penal sections for allegedly insulting persons and for giving provocation to cause distress and to offend the individuals on the basis of their association with a particular group.
In the video, the police said that the accused used "derogatory comments, personal attacks, depicting the Chief Minister of a state as a boozer, cheater etc., to lower the image of a person elected by democratic means and holding a constitutional post. Therefore, they have indulged in personal attacks and hate speech by way of playing a skit and causing distress among the public".
"Such act has gone against the democratic ethos and hurts the public will, also by personally targeting and defaming the elected government as well as the CM," added the police.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NorthEast United FC Stay In ISL Playoff Spots, Beat Hyderabad FC In Seven-Goal Thriller Ruturaj Gaikwad Sends Yet Another Message To India Selectors With 148 In Vijay Hazare Trophy "Daughter Doesn't Know Her Mother's Dead": 'Pushpa 2' Stampede Victim's Husband Trump Says US Ownership Of Greenland Absolutely Necessary, Nation Responds Delta Airline Passenger Gets Frustrated After His First-Class Seat Was Given To Service Dog Congress Leader Files Complaint Against Allu Arjun Over Scene In 'Pushpa 2' 2 Men Dragged For 300 Metres By Truck In UP's Agra, Driver Arrested: Cops German President Urges Unity After "Dark Shadow" Of Christmas Market Attack Former US President Bill Clinton Hospitalised With Fever Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.