Telangana: Kavitha’s hunger strike is ironic and theatrics, says Tarun Chugh

Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary and the state in-charge, Tarun Chugh stated that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha’s hunger strike was ironic and called it “theatrics” to deflect attention from her involvement in liquor scam.

“It is ironic that a party that is inherently misogynist, talks about women’s reservations. The first cabinet of Telangana state didn’t have a single woman minister. Even in its second stint, the party has just two women as ministers,” said the BJP state in-charge.

He alleged that the demand to pass the women’s reservation bill in the next parliamentary session was only a pretext to divert the attention of the people from the liquor scam.

“If Kavitha is genuine in her demand, she must ensure a 33 percent reservation in her father’s cabinet,” added Tarun Chugh.

“The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned the sitting MLC Kavitha for questioning after following due process and obtaining conclusive evidence. Arun Pillai, one of the accused in the scam, already made a deposition stating that he was actually a binami of Kavitha and acted at her behest,” read the statement on Saturday.

After nearly nine long hours of questioning, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) senior leader and MLC K Kavitha was let off by the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday. However, her phone continues to remain in ED’s custody.

The daughter of Telangana chief minister will appear before the ED next on March 16, sources said.

Chugh said that chargesheets had detailed the role of Kavitha in the liquor scam in active connivance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). “The chargesheets contain information on how the South Group played an important role in the whole scam, and how Rs 100 crore were given to AAP through the hawala route,” he added.

He said the ED summoned Kavitha to get details of the transaction. “Instead of answering questions, to which perhaps there are no answers, BRS has chosen to take recourse to intimidation by calling statutory agencies names”.

He stated that the statutory agencies have free hands, and they would do the job as per the mandate. He said that it has become fashionable for opposition parties to blame the agencies.

“The silence of K Chandrashekhar Rao on this entire issue is telling,” said the BJP leader stating the BRS MLC is unable to provide answers to simple questions like whether she was a part of the South Group.

“Did she take part in the deliberations to decide the liquor policy? Whether or not they had meetings in ITC Kohinoor, Hyderabad, and Hotel Oberai, New Delhi, or her share in the entire scheme was fixed at 33%,” he added.

Chugh said that it is ironic that a section of opposition parties has taken the usual recourse of blaming the Union Government and Narendra Modi. “I wish to make it unequivocal that the Modi government
wouldn’t spare anyone involved in corruption, for it has a zero-tolerance policy towards it,” he added.

Referring to posters put up by BRS across the city in the wake of Kavitha’s interrogation by ED, Chugh said, “As the truth of the liquor scam stares them in the eyes the fear is visible on their faces which the manufactured postures and protests can’t obfuscate.”

BRS has put up posters across Hyderabad with one of them depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ten-headed Ravana from Hindu mythology. The poster also described the Prime Minister as the ‘destroyer of democracy and ‘grandfather of hypocrisy’.

Along with this, posters mocking the BJP for its ‘raid’ detergent also were put up by members of the BRS in the city.

Earlier in the day, Bandi Sanjay, while addressing a rally said, “Few journalists asked me if Kavitha would be arrested. If or not arrested should Kavitha be kissed!” His comments did not go down well with Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) cadres who protested and burnt effigies in the national capital.

Following a complaint by BRS leaders and a suo motu cognizance by State Women’s Commission chairperson Sunitha Laxma Reddy, a case was reportedly registered against Bandi under Section 504 (Whoever intentionally insults, and thereby gives provocation to any person, intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace) and 509 (intending to insult the modesty of any woman) of the Indian Penal Code.