Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 20 : Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Mahmood Ali on Tuesday accused the Telangana government of using the ongoing phone-tapping case against former minister T Harish Rao to divert public attention ahead of municipal elections.
Speaking to ANI, the BRS leader said, "Municipal elections are coming up. This is to divert the public's attention. The Congress government, in particular, had made many promises before the elections. They gave many guarantees, but did not act on any of them. Now that the time has come to face the public, they are making these allegations to divert attention. We strongly condemn this and are fully confident that we will receive relief from the law."
The statement comes after BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) and Harish Rao arrived at Telangana Bhavan earlier in the day, following which Harish Rao went for questioning at Jubilee Hills Police Station in connection with the phone-tapping case. The police sent a notice to Rao in connection with this case.
Meanwhile, KTR has alleged that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has alleged that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy issued notices to former minister Harish Rao in the phone-tapping matter solely to divert public attention after his exposure in the coal scam involving his brother-in-law, Srujan Reddy.
According to an official release, KTR accused the Telangana government of resorting to "attention diversion politics" and said that the notices to Harish Rao represent a political vendetta.
KTR recalled that the Supreme Court itself had clearly stated that there was no substance in the phone-tapping case and that it was nothing but an act of political vendetta, the release noted.
"Even after the apex court quashed the case and brought an end to this political drama, the Revanth Reddy government issued fresh notices to Harish Rao, now clearly exposing how far the government has stooped," he criticised, adding that "the real intention behind these notices has now become crystal clear to the people of Telangana."
KTR further alleged that they had "exposed with evidence the illegal coal mine allocation scam involving Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's brother-in-law Sujan Reddy", describing the notices served to Harish Rao as "an escape from this massive scam"
He mocked this as a classic "Revanth Reddy-style diversion politics." "Smearing opposition leaders and intimidating them with notices to escape corruption allegations has become a habit of this government," he stated.