Congress lodges police plaint on defections of its 12 MLAs into BRS

The police complaint now comes at a time when KCR has accused the BJP of attempting to poach his four MLAs with bribes towards toppling his government

The Telangana Congress has sought a CBI probe into the defection of its 12 MLAs into the BRS, in June 2019, about six months after the December 2018 Assembly polls that saw Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao retain power in the state.

The Congress had then unsuccessfully opposed the merger of its MLAs into the BRS legislature party, which it said took place even after complaints made to the Assembly speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy.

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The police complaint now comes at a time when KCR has accused the BJP of attempting to poach his four MLAs with bribes (of over Rs 50 crore each), towards toppling his government.

While the BRS government had set up an SIT for investigation, the poachgate case was last week transferred to the CBI by the Telangana high court. The state has challenged the order of a single judge, and a larger bench is now reviewing the same.

On Friday, Congress leaders led by TPCC chief Revanth Reddy lodged a complaint with the Moinabad police, near Hyderabad, under whose jurisdiction a meeting of BRS MLAs and alleged mediators took place in October in a farmhouse.

The Congress has asked for its MLAs defections probe complaint also to be transferred to the CBI, as and when BRS MLAs poaching case is handed over to the central probe agency.