Parties raise the hell in Munugodu

Hyderabad: The spin masters are at work. Both the TRS and the BJP have upped the ante against each other and are trying to make maximum use of the social media. Leaders of both the parties accuse each other of using morphed videos to mislead the people.

While the TRS on Sunday alleged that the BJP which had nothing to tell the people was spending huge money to lure their local leaders. Finance Minister T Harish Rao said the BJP had booked a large number of Brezza cars and bikes to lure their leaders. He alleged that BJP candidate Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy had publicly stated that he had received contracts worth thousands of crores from the Union government and hence he joined the BJP. This amounts to quid pro quo, he said.

On the other hand, the BJP alleged that the Chief Minister had performed Kshudra Puja (occult practice) to defeat the BJP candidate and that the TRS social media experts were busy preparing morphed videos as part of smear campaign against their candidate Rajagopal Reddy.

BJP national vice-president D K Aruna said the TRS was twisting the facts and indulging in mudslinging to mislead the people. "It does not stop there. It is now trying to mislead the Election Commission as well by submitting morphed videos," she alleged.

She said It was not the first time that the TRS resorted to such cheap tactics. It had done same thing during the GHMC elections in 2020. TRS ministers campaigned based on a forged letter claiming that the Telangana State BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar had written a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI), asking it to stop the disbursal of Rs 10,000 flood relief to the people affected by the flash floods in Hyderabad.

The TRS had also run similar campaigns during the Dubbaka and Huzurabad by-polls, she said, adding that Rajagopal stood as an example of value-based politics. He resigned from the Assembly before joining the BJP and was now seeking a fresh mandate. The TRS which had "gobbled" up many Congress, TDP and other MLAs did not ask them to resign and seek fresh mandate but was now talking about values in politics. She said Rajagopal Reddy had clarified that there is no relation between his joining the BJP and his contracts. She said the TRS is all set to spend Rs 200 crore to win the Munugodu bypoll and would come up with many more concocted stories in the coming days, she alleged.