Hyderabad:

Taking strong exception to BRS MLAs joining the ruling Congress in Telangana, BRS leader K T Rama Rao on Monday said his party had seen similar defections in the past when Congress was in power and that the grand old party had to eventually “bow down”.

Responding to BRS MLA from Jagtial, Sanjay Kumar, switching loyalties to Congress on Sunday, Mr Rao, who is working president of BRS, said the power of people is always stronger than the people in power.

“We have faced several defections of MLAs in the past in 2004-06 when Congress was in Government. Telangana responded strongly by stepping up the people’s agitation & eventually Congress had to bow its head. History shall repeat itself,” Mr Rao said on ‘X’.

The K Chandrasekhar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) suffered yet another setback on Sunday as Mr Kumar joined the Congress.

Mr Kumar was welcomed into the Congress fold by Chief Minister and PCC president A Revanth Reddy, party sources said.

He is the fifth BRS MLA to join the Congress. A doctor by profession, Mr Kumar was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the second time.

Mr Kumar joining the Congress came close on the heels of senior BRS MLA and former Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy switching over to the grand old party on June 21.

Earlier, BRS MLAs Kadiam Srihari, Danam Nagender and Tellam Venkat Rao joined the ruling party.

Besides these MLAs, several other BRS leaders, including Hyderabad Mayor Vijaya Laxmi R Gadwal, have also joined the Congress.

There have been speculations that more BRS MLAs would join the Congress in the days to come.

BRS had won 39 of the total 119 Assembly seats in the elections held last year, while Congress came to power with 64 seats.

BRS MLA from Secunderabad Cantonment G Lasya Nanditha died in a road accident earlier this year.

Congress won the recently held bypoll for Secunderabad Cantonment segment. This led to an increase of its MLAs to 65. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad:

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark that Congress and BRS had given Hyderabad “on lease” to AIMIM, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday asserted that the people of Hyderabad are not cattle, adding that they are the citizens, not the property of political parties.

PM Modi on Wednesday trained guns at Congress and BRS and alleged that for all these years, Congress and BRS have given Hyderabad to AIMIM on “lease.”

“Modi came to Telangana and said that the Hyderabad seat had been given on lease to Owaisi. The people of Hyderabad are not cattle. We are citizens, not the property of political parties. For forty years, Hyderabad has defeated the evil ideology of Hindutva and entrusted AIMIM. Inshallah, Hindutva will be defeated again,” Mr Owaisi posted on X.

He further turned the focus towards electoral funding. Mr Owaisi criticised PM Modi and said, “Modi is bonded to those who gave his party Rs 6,000 crore through electoral bonds. In return, he has leased/sold India’s assets to his sponsors.”

“Modi appeased them so much that today, 21 people have more wealth than 70 crore Indians in total. Those 21 are his real parivar,” he added.

Modi came to Telangana and said that the Hyderabad seat has been given on lease to Owaisi.

The people of Hyderabad are not cattle. We are citizens, not the property of political parties. For forty years, Hyderabad has defeated the evil ideology of Hindutva and entrusted AIMIM.… pic.twitter.com/F5YO1RxsXY

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) May 8, 2024

Earlier, speaking to ANI, the AIMIM chief claimed that PM Modi is frustrated, adding that AIMIM has been defeating the BJP for 40 years.

“We have been defeating BJP for 40 years…in 2014 and 2019, PM Modi came but AIMIM won here…I want to ask PM, where is the money for PM care funds, in which bank is the electoral bond money?…unemployment and inflation are increasing…this year PM Modi wants to change the constitution so that he can end the reservation. He says that we are infiltrators and our daughters give birth to so many children, this is wrong. Will a Muslim take out the ‘Mangalsutra’ from a Hindu woman? Prime Minister is frustrated,” he added.

On Wednesday, addressing a rally in Telangana’s Karimnagar, PM Modi trained guns at Congress and BRS and alleged that for all these years, Congress and BRS have given Hyderabad to AIMIM on “lease.”

“For all these years, both these parties (Congress and BRS) have given Hyderabad to AIMIM on lease. If someone has challenged the AIMIM for the first time, it’s BJP. More than AIMIM, it’s Congress and BRS who are rattled by the challenge from the BJP. Both are helping AIMIM to win in Hyderabad,” he added

Madhavi Latha is set to face Asaduddin Owaisi, who is a four-time Lok Sabha MP from the Hyderabad constituency. It is worth mentioning that this is the first time that the BJP has fielded a female candidate from the Hyderabad constituency.

Asaduddin Owaisi, who has served four terms in the Lok Sabha as the elected representative from Hyderabad since 2004, was previously elected as an MLA twice in the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Before Mr Owaisi, who won the seat for the first time in 2004, Hyderabad was represented in the Lok Sabha by his father, Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, from 1984. Apart from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, all assembly seats in Hyderabad, except Goshamahal, are held by the AIMIM.

The Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven assembly segments–Bahadurpura, Chandrayangutta, Charminar, Goshamahal, Karwan, Malakpet and Yakatpura. All assembly seats, except Goshamahal, are presently held by the AIMIM.

Voting for all 17 seats in Telangana will take place on May 13 in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. In the 2019 general election, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) won nine seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party four, Congress three and AIMIM one seat.

The BJP had won four seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections out of the 17 at stake in Telangana, namely Secunderabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, and Adilabad.

Lok Sabha polls are being held across seven phases till June 1 and votes will be counted on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Twelve of the 20 new companies which bought electoral bonds were from Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: Akash Dhage/Unsplash

Despite companies in existence for less than three years not being allowed to make political contributions — even through the electoral bonds route — data shows that at least 20 such newly incorporated firms purchased poll bonds worth about ₹103 crore (Table 1).

At the time when they purchased their first electoral bonds, five of these firms were in existence for less than a year, seven of them were a year old and the eight others had only completed two years. Notably, many of these firms were started in 2019 when the Indian economy went through recession or during the middle of the pandemic and bought electoral bonds worth crores of rupees just months after incorporation.

Also read: Electoral bonds data | Full list of donors and recipient political parties

The ban on companies making political contributions within three years from incorporation has been in existence for nearly four decades. In 1985, the Parliament amended Section 293A, lifting the ban on political contributions by firms subject to a few conditions. One of the conditions was that the firms should not be owned by the government and should not be less than three years old. This clause was retained under Section 182 of the Companies Act, 2013. When Section 154 of the Finance Act, 2017, amended Section 182, just before the introduction of electoral bonds, this clause was again retained. However, the amendment deleted the first proviso by which the amount donated by a company was capped at 7.5% of its average net profit during its previous three financial years. The prohibition on companies making donations to political parties in their first three years continued. According to Section 182 of the Companies Act 2013, if a firm makes a donation in contravention to the provisions, “the company shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five times the amount so contributed and every officer of the company who is in default shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and with fine which may extend to five times the amount so contributed”.

Table 1 | The table shows the names of the 20 firms which purchased the electoral bonds (EBs), within three years of their incorporation. The date of incorporation of these companies, the date on which they purchased their first poll bond, the difference between the two dates along with the total worth of bonds purchased by these firms is mentioned in the table. 

Table appears incomplete? Click to remove AMP mode

Also read: Electoral bonds data | 55 firms’ purchase exceeded 7.5% cap in 2022-24, lion’s share went to BJP

12 of these 20 companies were headquartered in Hyderabad (Table 2). Together these 12 companies donated ₹37.5 crores, and close to 75% of which was encashed by the BRS, with the rest divided among the TDP, the Congress and the BJP. Two companies in Hyderabad — Tsharks Infra Developers Private Limited and Tsharks Overseas Education Consultancy Private Limited — both incorporated in 2023 — purchased ₹7.5 crore worth of bonds within months of getting incorporated and donated it to the BRS. Among the rest, HH Iron and Steel Private Limited, headquartered in Coimbatore, gave ₹15 crores to the BJP and five crores to the BJD. Their first electoral bond purchase was done just days short of turning three years old. Askus Logistics Private Limited, incorporated in November 2021, bought its first electoral bond within 1.5 years of its incorporation and donated ₹22 crores. This was encashed by the DMK, AITC and the RJD. Besseggen Infotech LLP, incorporated in May 2018, bought bonds worth ₹11.5 crores, with their first purchase done two years and ten months into their existence.

Table 2 | The table shows the city-wise split of the 20 companies.

Table 3 | The table shows the party-wise split of the encashments of the EBs purchased by the 20 companies.

Electoral bonds data | New firms bought crores of electoral bonds within months of formation

The three-year rule was retained to prevent shell companies from making political contributions. When the first proviso, which prescribed the 7.5% cap, was removed in 2017, the Election Commission of India had warned that this may lead to the use of “black money through shell companies”. The RBI had also flagged the possibility of firms misusing bearer bonds for money laundering.

The list of 20 firms is not exhaustive as it does not include the firms which were newly incorporated after mergers and amalgamations. The list also does not include firms that are not in the MCA

With inputs from Rebecca Rose Varghese

Watch our Data video:Electoral bonds banned: Which party benefitted the most while it existed?

Hyderabad:

Former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi has been witnessing an exodus following its defeat in last year’s assembly election. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, more than 10 senior leaders have switched sides.

More than 10 names on the BJP list are former members of the BRS. Among them are former BRS minister Eatala Rajender. A candidate from Malkajgiri, he joined the BJP in June 2021 after he was thrown out of the BRS.

But while he has been in the party for a while, many others made the switch and within hours, were nominated by the BJP.

Zaheerabad sitting MP was from BRS, quit and within hours became the BJP candidate. Bharat, son of BRS MP Ramulu was fielded from Nagarkurnool, within hours of the father and son switching parties. Aroori Ramesh was made the Warangal BJP candidate in the same way.

The Congress has been welcoming BRS leaders in a similar manner. Chevella MP Ranjith Reddy who won as the BRS candidate is now representing the Congress from the same seat.

Danam Nagender who won as BRS MLA from Khairatabad in the November 30 elections, has been fielded from Secunderabad by the Congress. The wife of former BRS minister Patnam Mahender Reddy, Sunita Mahender Reddy, who was the Vikarabad zilla parishad chairperson with the BRS, is now the Congress’s Malkajgiri candidate.

Kadiyam Kavya, whom BRS gave ticket for Warangal, has moved to the Congress and has been fielded from the same seat. Her father Kadiyam Srihari was also elected as BRS MLA in the November 30 assembly election.

Two other key leaders of BRS — Peddapalli MP Venkatesh Netha moved to Congress but have not been given ticket. Warangal MP Pasunuri Dayakar has also switched to the Congress but has not been fielded by the party.

In 2019, nine of the 17 Lok Sabha seats of the state had gone to Mr Rao’s party, four to the BJP, three to the Congress and one to Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM.

Back then, Mr Rao’s party, still called the Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS, dominated, given his status as the father of the statehood movement.

The slide of the party started after its change of name – a focus from state issues to national aspirations of the leader did not go down well with the electorate, many in the party had privately admitted.

Added to it were the corruption allegations, including the alleged involvement of Mr Rao’s daughter K Kavitha in the Delhi liquor case.

New Delhi:

In yet another blow to former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Chevella MP Ranjith Reddy on Sunday quit the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and joined the ruling Congress.

Taking to his official X account, he cited “current political circumstances” behind his (sudden but expected) resignation. He also shared his resignation letter on the microblogging platform.

“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for the invaluable opportunity provided by the party to address and resolve the crucial issues affecting the residents of the former Ranga Reddy and Vikarabad Districts. Your confidence in my abilities has empowered me to effectively serve the constituents of Chevella, my parliamentary constituency,” Mr Reddy wrote in his resignation letter to Mr Rao.

“I am sincerely thankful for your steadfast support throughout this journey. Unfortunately, due to the current political circumstances in the state of Telangana, I have come to the difficult decision to pursue an alternative path. It is with a heavy heart that I hereby submit my resignation from the BRS Party and relinquish my membership. I want to extend my deepest appreciation for the support and endorsement extended by the party during my tenure,” he said.

I’m writing to inform all my supporters and people that I have submitted the formal letter of resignation to @BRSparty

I would like to convey my gratitude to the BRS party for the meaningful opportunity provided & the cooperation extended in my service to the people of… pic.twitter.com/tCZ4N9Kbo8

— Dr Ranjith Reddy (@DrRanjithReddy) March 17, 2024

Hours after his resignation, Mr Reddy joined the Congress in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and other senior party leaders.

ముఖ్యమంత్రి, టిపిసిసి అద్యక్షులు శ్రీ రేవంత్ రెడ్డి గారు, ఏఐసీసీ ఇంచార్జ్ దీపాదాస్ మున్షీ సమక్షంలో కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీలో చేరిన చేవెళ్ల బీఆరెస్ ఎంపీ రంజిత్ రెడ్డి గారు, ఖైరతాబాద్ బీఆర్ఎస్ ఎమ్మెల్యే దానం నాగేందర్ గారు.#JoiningsInCongresspic.twitter.com/4hPJhvYT0k

— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) March 17, 2024

K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is commonly known as KCR, has seen some of his party’s MPs switching over to other parties in the past few weeks.

Earlier on Saturday, BRS MP from Warangal Pasunoori Dayakar joined the ruling Congress.

Recently, BRS MPs from Zaheerabad and Nagarkurnool, BB Patil and P Ramulu respectively, had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BRS has been on the back foot after its defeat in the recently held assembly elections in Telangana and has been struggling to find candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP, on the other hand, also does not have enough candidates and has been eyeing to induct leaders from other parties.

It fielded BB Patil from Zaheerabad, a day after he joined the party. The BJP also made Bharat Prasad its candidate from the Nagarkurnool (SC reserved) constituency, days after his father, P Ramulu, resigned from the KCR-led BRS.

Elections will be held in Telangana on May 13.

Hyderabad:

Telangana MLA Lasya Nandita died today after the SUV she was travelling in collided with a road divider in Hyderabad. This though, was the second major accident that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader was involved in this month.

Just 10 days ago, the 37-year-old legislator had survived an accident in Narkatpally. She was on her way to a rally being addressed by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy when a drunk driver rammed into her vehicle. Her home guard was killed in the accident, while she sustained minor injuries.

Today’s fatal accident occurred when the driver of her vehicle, a Maruti XL6, lost control and crashed into the metal divider on the Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad. Lasya Nandita died on the spot, while her driver is critical and being treated at a private hospital.

The incident took place at 5.30 am today.

Both accidents are currently being investigated by the police.

The 37-year-old first-time legislator from Secunderabad Cantonment (SC) was shifted to a hospital where the doctors declared her dead on arrival.

Born in 1986 in Hyderabad, Lasya Nandita made her foray into politics around a decade ago. She served as a corporator in the Kavadiguda ward before being elected as MLA from Secunderabad Cantonment in the 2023 Telangana assembly elections.

Telangana Chief Minister, BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, state BJP president G Kishan Reddy and several Telangana ministers and leaders condoled the death of the young legislator.

Expressing grief over the tragic death of Lasya Nandita, Revanth Reddy recalled his close association with her late father G Sayanna. “It is tragic that Sayanna died in February last year and Lasya Nanditha also passed away suddenly during the same month (in a span of one year),” he said.

BRS leader and Minister S. Niranjan Reddy speaking to newspersons in Hyderabad on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement

The election promises made by the Congress party in neighbouring Karnataka were getting fused every year since it came to power six months back and the party was asking the people of Telangana to believe it with such an experience in the backdrop, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and Minister S. Niranjan Reddy said in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Talking to reporters, he said the repeated claims of the Congress that it had given Telangana won’t suit its history, as it was conveniently forgetting the fact that it was the party that had merged the region with Andhra against the will of the people. Mr. Reddy said the Congress Government at the Centre in 2014 had given statehood to Telangana under inevitable circumstances following the sacrifices made by all sections.

He remained the Congress leader who they would insult and belittle Telangana, its people and culture repeatedly during combined Andhra Pradesh rule. After the formation of Telangana, large tracts of dry lands were provided irrigation facilities by diverting the Godavari and Krishna waters. New districts were formed and every district and Telangana had become the first State in the country to have sanctioned one Government Medical College each to every district.

The Minister stated that enviable progress was achieved in the fields of education, health, drinking water, irrigation and energy after formation of the State. People would not forget the plights they suffered during the Congress rule in the past, he noted and said BRS would win people’s hearts and the election comfortably.

Hyderabad:

Raising social security pension amounts, increasing financial assistance given under the ‘Rythu Bandhu’ investment support scheme for farmers, and providing LPG cylinders at Rs 400 each are some of the promises made by the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) for the upcoming assembly elections in Telangana.

Releasing the party manifesto for the November 30 assembly polls, BRS chief and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said all 93 lakh families living below the poverty line (BPL) in the state would be provided life insurance cover of Rs five lakh and that the government would bear the cost of the premium.

Mr Rao, also known as KCR, said the social security pension, which currently stands at Rs 2,016, will be increased to Rs 5,000 per month gradually over the next five years.

According to the manifesto, It will be increased to Rs 3,016 in the first year after the BRS returns to power, and then be raised incrementally up to Rs 5,000 in the next four years.

Similarly, pension for Divyang people (persons with disabilities) will be enhanced to Rs 6,016 in the coming five years, from the existing Rs 4016.

Under the ‘Rythu Bandhu’ scheme in which farmers get Rs 10,000 per annum per acre, the payments will be enhanced gradually to Rs 16,000 per annum in the next five years.

“The BRS after coming to power will give each gas cylinder at Rs 400 to ‘eligible beneficiaries’ and the remaining cost will be borne by the state government,” it said.

The BRS manifesto also promises Rs 15 lakh health insurance coverage to all eligible beneficiaries under the ‘Arogya Sri’ health scheme, increasing it from the present Rs five lakh.

Mr Rao, who expressed confidence that his party would return to power, said the promises announced by the BRS would be implemented within six to seven months after forming the government.

Before releasing the manifesto, the CM said his government implemented 90 per cent of the welfare schemes though they were not mentioned in the manifesto for the previous elections.

Speaking further about the BRS’s plans if it returns to power, he said all residential junior colleges will be converted into residential degree colleges.

Watch Live: BRS Party President, CM Sri KCR speaking after releasing the party manifesto. #KCROnceAgain#VoteForCarhttps://t.co/XRJVLM72C0

— BRS Party (@BRSparty) October 15, 2023

Highlighting the development that the state has undergone under the BRS, Mr Rao stated that Telangana has become the number one in per capita income and power consumption, among other aspects. He promised to continue the government’s policies with regard to power and agriculture and said that, if required, stimulus would be given. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad:

A 23-year-old woman who was preparing for competitive exams allegedly died by suicide at her hostel in Ashok Nagar in Hyderabad, sparking protests by government job aspirants against the BRS dispensation, police said on Saturday.

As soon as news of the woman’s death broke on Friday night, a large number of students staged protests in the area and raised slogans against the state government.

The agitators also tried to prevent the police from shifting the woman’s body to the hospital.

TV visuals showed the police dispersing the crowds, though officials denied resorting to lathi charge.

A police official told reporters that in the suicide note that was recovered, the woman, Pravallika, had tendered an apology to her parents for being unable to do anything for them.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) M Venkateshwarlu told reporters at a press conference that after verifying the chat history of Pravallika’s cell phone, they found that she was in love with a person and that he is engaged to be married to another woman.

“As per the chat record and after verifying CCTV footage, (we find that) she committed suicide as the boy cheated her and is getting married to another woman. It (suicide) has nothing to do with any other issue,” the official claimed.

He further said that based on the outcome of the forensic analysis of the cell phone, the police may slap penal sections relevant to abetting suicide against the man.

M Venkateshwarlu said Pravallika had been preparing to take government exams to secure a job but that her suicide had nothing to do with the exams. The victim’s friends at the hostel said she took the extreme step owing to personal reasons, he said.

Expressing deep sorrow over Pravallika’s alleged suicide, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Saturday sought a report from the Chief Secretary, DGP and Secretary of the State Public Service Commission within 48 hours.

According to the police, the woman, who hails from Warangal, killed herself on Friday night due to personal issues. However, the protestors claimed that she had ended her life dejected over not being able to get a job and the postponement of the Group-2 exam by the Telangana State Public Service Commission again.

Opposition parties in the state held the K Chandrasekhar Rao-headed government responsible for the death of the young woman.

BJP MP K Laxman claimed on social media platform X that he demanded that the woman’s suicide letter be made public but was “arrested”.

“She was diligently preparing for government examinations for many months. But due to repeated cancellations and postponements of exams by the BRS government, she took the extreme step,” he said.

The BJP MP sought justice for the woman and also others affected by the “sheer negligence” of the state government.

Congress leader M Anil Kumar Yadav, who also joined the protestors, claimed that the woman ended her life upset over the cancellation of the TSPSC exam twice.

He sought a judicial inquiry into the incident and financial assistance for her family.

Telangana Congress president A Revanth Reddy expressed anguish over the woman’s death and alleged that the BRS government has failed to conduct recruitment exams properly.

Reddy urged the people to help make a success of the ‘rasta roko’ (road blockade) proposed to be organised today by the Congress and other parties, seeking abolition of the incumbent Public Service Commission members and the appointment of members afresh.

The BRS government had earlier too come under fire from the opposition parties over the question paper leak of recruitment exams conducted by the Telangana State Public Service Commission.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad:

Telangana is the first state in independent India to have launched a project called ‘Mission Bhagiratha’ to provide a drinking water connection to every home, BRS Working President K T Rama Rao said on Thursday.

In a message posted on social media platform X, Rama Rao, referring to a news story, said that inspired by Telangana’s project, the NDA government at the Centre had launched its ‘Har Ghar Jal’ programme a few years later.

“Telangana is the first state in independent India to have launched a project called ‘Mission Bhagiratha’ to provide a potable water connection to every home, thanks to our Hon’ble CM KCR’s visionary leadership,” he said.

“Inspired by Telangana’s success, Govt of India has launched ‘Har Ghar Jal’ a few years later. What Telangana does today, rest of India follows tomorrow,” Rama Rao added.

Telangana is The first state in independent India to have launched a project called “Mission Bhagiratha” to provide a potable water connection to every home

Thanks to our Hon’ble CM KCR’s visionary leadership

Inspired by Telangana’s success, Govt of India has launched Har… https://t.co/yeZQonlmA2

— KTR (@KTRBRS) October 12, 2023

Under Mission Bhagiratha, it was conceived to provide 100 litres per capita per day (LPCD) treated and piped water to every household in rural areas, 135 LPCD in municipalities and 150 LPCD in municipal corporations, according to a state government website. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)