Poachgate conspiracy hatched after BRS made BJP jittery
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s covert operation to purchase TRS MLAs began five-six months ago, particularly after the talk of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao launching a national party became a discussion point across the nation and with the BJP getting jittery about this.
The probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), according to sources privy to the findings so far, has confirmed that Delhi was involved in the entire operation, with Amit Shah pulling the strings and calls by the accused in the case being traced directly to the Prime Minister’s Office.
It has been found that Ramachandra Bharathi, one of the three arrested in the sting operation at the Moinabad farmhouse belonging to MLA Pilot Rohit Reddy, had directly spoken to some senior officials in the PMO and union Home Ministry, regarding which the police have collected proof. With more evidence being gleaned from call data records and laptops of the accused, there could soon be arrests of a few key persons, directly and indirectly, linked to the BJP, the sources said.
It may be recalled that the three BJP agents, Ramachandra Bharathi, Simhayaji and Nanda Kumar, were arrested by the Cyberabad Police who carried out the sting operation on the trio when they were trying to lure four TRS (BRS) legislators into the BJP fold by promising them hefty sums ranging from Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore each.
The confessions of the three accused corroborate the fact that the conspiracy began with the BJP managing to ‘convince’ Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy to resign, so that a bypoll could be forced in the Munugode Assembly constituency. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ramagundam and his vitriolic attack on the TRS (BRS) on Saturday were all part of the grand plan.
The BJP leadership had plans to poach a few more legislators and former leaders from the TRS and other parties before the bypoll. Winning the bypoll was crucial to prove that those who have jumped ship have people’s approval. The Munugode victory, the BJP leaders were sure, would make more leaders from the TRS pliable and follow suit with the defectors. However, with the Munugode plot fizzling out, attempts began to divert public attention, with Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax raids being planned.
The sources said Ramachandra Bharathi had confessed to the SIT that ‘Number 1’ and ‘Number 2’ mentioned in the video and audio footage were Modi and Shah. A video recording of his confession has been made. He is also said to have confessed about his conversations with Sadhvi Prachi, who heads a right-wing organisation, seeking to become a Rajya Sabha member.
As Telangana Today reported earlier, the SIT probe has revealed that BJP State president Bandi Sanjay, too, was aware of the entire operation and his attempts to take oath at the Yadadri temple was only to divert public attention.
Interestingly, a close confidante of Bandi Sanjay, identified as Srinivas, an advocate by profession in Karimnagar, had booked tickets for Simhayaji on October 26. Srinivas was a neighbour of Bandi Sanjay and is seen in close proximity of him. Investigators have found that Srinivas was in touch with Nanda Kumar too. The police have retrieved the call details and text conversations between the two. Srinivas had also stayed with Nanda Kumar and Simhayaji at the same place in Delhi on October 14-15.
Surprisingly, ever since the scandal came out, he has not been attending court in Karimnagar and is seen nowhere. The SIT has submitted all evidence to the court, along with authentication from the Forensic Science Lab.
The other crucial factor that went against the BJP plot was after MLA Pilot Rohit Reddy, who turned the tables against the BJP leaders, apprised the TRS (BRS) leadership of the inducements being offered to win over the MLAs. After the trap, TRS (BRS) president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao delivered a killer punch by making the video footage public to avoid any false claims and malpractices by the BJP. The footage, along with other evidence, has already been sent to the Supreme Court, all High Courts in the country and also media organisations.
