Allegations of "Operation Lotus" are raging in Telangana after the police on Wednesday claimed to have caught three persons in the act of bribing four MLAs of the state's ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to switch to the BJP. As much as Rs 100 crore was offered to a key leader in secret negotiations at a farmhouse last night, the police said.
The police claimed that one of the MLAs, Pilot Rohit Reddy - who owns the farmhouse - tipped the police off about the "deal". He is the complainant in an FIR (First Information Report) that alleges that Rs 250 crore was on the table for four MLAs. The MLA also claims that he was threatened with investigations.
Three people were detained - Satiesh Sharma, alias Ram Chandra Bharati, a priest from Haryana's Faridabad, D Simhayaji, a seer from Tirupathi, and a Hyderabad businessman, Nandakumar. The police claim they are linked to the BJP.
The MLAs called the police, saying they were being "lured and bribed to change parties", Telangana police chief Stephen Raveendra told NDTV. "They said they were offered big money, contracts and posts to switch parties," he said.
Apart from ₹100 crore for Rohit Reddy, ₹ 50 crore apiece was offered to the other three MLA, according to the FIR.
If they didn't join the BJP, "there will be criminal cases and raids by ED (Enforcement Directorate)/CBI and the Telangana Government led by TRS party will be toppled," the FIR by Rohit Reddy said.
Photos have emerged since of the detained men with BJP leaders. But one of the men, Nandakumar, is also seen in some photos with TRS functionaries.
D Simhayaji, a seer from Tirupathi, was among those detained during the raid at the farmhouse.
The BJP today accused the TRS of staging a drama "scripted, directed and produced" by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao or KCR.
"Who offered Rs 100 crore," Union Minister Kishan Reddy, a senior Telangana BJP leader, questioned.
Nandakumar, a businessman from Hyderabad, seen with Union Minister G Kishan Reddy.
"Even before the police came to the farmhouse, media crews were present there, giving details of what was happening inside. Why were they allowed into the farmhouse? How is the BJP involved? These people are not associated with the BJP," Mr Reddy said.
He also suggested the involvement of the police in an elaborate plot.
Yesterday, the police chief had said the men had come to Hyderabad on fake identities.
Satish Sharma, alias Ram Chandra Bharati, a priest from Haryana's Faridabad, seen in pic with Yogi Adityanath.
The BJP said there was "no reason" for them to offer astronomical amounts for four MLAs when the ruling party (TRS) has a comfortable majority. "Will the government fall if these MLAs cross over," Mr Reddy asked.
The TRS has raised "Operation Lotus" allegations since 2019.
"Operation Lotus" is the term used by the opposition to describe the alleged bribing of ruling party MLAs by the BJP to topple governments.
Such allegations peaked earlier this year when Uddhav Thackeray's coalition crashed in Maharashtra after a BJP-backed coup in his Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde. Mr Shinde formed a new government with the BJP.
Recently, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed that the BJP was trying to lure away its MLAs in Delhi and Punjab.
In August, there were reports of a BJP leader claiming that around 18 MLAs of TRS would soon join the BJP.
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