Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Jun 13: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday accused the BJP of adopting a “Kim Jong Un model” in elections and alleged that the party orchestrated “seat theft” in the Rajya Sabha elections by securing the cancellation of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination papers in Madhya Pradesh.

Addressing reporters in Hyderabad, Reddy alleged that after failing to carry out “vote theft” in the Rajya Sabha elections, the BJP resorted to “seat theft” by using the Returning Officer to disqualify Natarajan.

“North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un seems to have become the BJP's role model. In North Korea, elections effectively have only one symbol, and the BJP is attempting a similar approach in the Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha elections,” he said.

The chief minister claimed that the BJP had earlier engaged in “vote theft” and had now moved on to “seat theft” after failing to influence legislators in Madhya Pradesh.

Referring to the rejection of Natarajan's nomination, Reddy clarified that his criticism was directed at the Returning Officer rather than the Election Commission. He alleged that the officer acted with bias and functioned like a BJP worker.

“When the BJP does not have the numbers, how can it field a third candidate in the Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha election? Since it could not achieve its objective politically, it used the Returning Officer as a weapon to disqualify Meenakshi Natarajan,” he alleged.

Describing the decision as a “blatant mistake”, Reddy said the episode represented a disturbing development in Indian democracy.

He further accused the BJP of being anti-democratic and anti-women, and framed the controversy as a battle between Gandhian values and the ideology associated with Nathuram Godse.

Claiming that Natarajan was a committed Gandhian, the chief minister said no criminal case was pending against her in Telangana. According to him, in the matter cited against her, she was only one of several respondents and had not been named as an accused.

“There is no case against Natarajan and even the court has not taken cognisance. The BJP and BRS are indulging in false propaganda,” he said, while accusing senior BJP leaders and the Returning Officer of conspiring against the Congress nominee.

Commenting on reports of political developments in the Trinamool Congress, Reddy said there was no provision for a merger by floor leaders alone. He maintained that either an entire party must merge or at least two-thirds of its legislators must defect collectively under existing legal provisions.

Speaking about his recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Reddy rejected suggestions that he was seeking political proximity with the Prime Minister.

“The Prime Minister was holding my hand, not the other way around. It was the Government of India holding the hand of Telangana,” he remarked, adding that the Centre has a responsibility to support states in their development efforts.

At the same time, he alleged that opposition-ruled states continued to face discrimination from the Centre and claimed that such discrimination would end only with a change in leadership at the national level.

Reddy said he had met the Prime Minister on Thursday and later held discussions with Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, urging the Centre to approve key projects, including the Hyderabad Metro expansion, the Polavaram project, transfer of 1,500 acres of dry land from Maharashtra, and resolution of water-sharing disputes involving Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

He also sought early clearance for airports at Warangal and Adilabad, as well as central support for coastal road connectivity projects.

The chief minister further accused Union Minister G Kishan Reddy of obstructing Telangana-related projects and failing to secure timely approvals from the Centre.

Questioning Kishan Reddy's commitment to the state's interests, he alleged that the Union minister was acting at the behest of BRS leader K T Rama Rao.

“If his intentions are clear, he should take me along and we can work together for Telangana's progress,” Revanth Reddy said.