4:1 ratio of I-T raids on Congress, BRS leaders and kin in poll-bound Telangana raises questions of ‘targeting’

Proving his suspicions true, the I-T officials conducted raids on his premises in the Khammam district on Thursday — the day he was set to file his nomination from the Palair Assembly constituency.

Also read: Telangana Congress’ advertisement campaign mocks KCR, BRS

‘Indication of Congress tsunami’

Revanth Reddy took to X (formerly Twitter) to express anger at the raids. He said: “Today it’s Ponguleti. Yesterday, it was Thummala. And before that, several Congress leaders’ premises were raided. What does this signal? Why aren’t raids being conducted on BJP and BRS leaders?”

In the same post, he said he knew the answer: “With clear indications of a Congress tsunami in Telangana, Modi-KD are agog. These (raids) are their way of stopping the tsunami. I condemn these raids. The lotus and car submerged by the tsunami on 30 November is guaranteed.”

Revanth Reddy has a case to argue.

నేడు పొంగులేటి, నిన్న తుమ్మల, అంతకు ముందు పలువురు కాంగ్రెస్ నేతల ఇళ్ల పై ఐటీ దాడులు దేనికి సంకేతం!?

బీజేపీ, బీఆర్ఎస్ నేతల ఇళ్లపై ఐటీ రైడ్స్ ఎందుకు జరగడం లేదు!?

రాష్ట్రంలో కాంగ్రెస్ సునామీ రాబోతోందని స్పష్టమైన సమాచారం రావడంతో మోడీ – కేడీ బెంబేలెత్తుతున్నారు. ఆ సునామీని…

— Revanth Reddy (@revanth_anumula) November 9, 2023

Meanwhile, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the BJP during an election rally in Raipur in Chhattisgarh over the I-T raids on the premises of Congress leaders in Telangana.

BJP हमारे एक उम्मीदवार के मुकाबले में 3 उम्मीदवार खड़ी करती है।

BJP के ये उम्मीदवार ED, CBI और IT हैं।

जैसे ही ED, CBI, IT को पता चलता है कि यह कांग्रेस का उम्मीदवार है, वह उसके घर पर रेड डाल देते हैं।

: छत्तीसगढ़ में कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री @kharge pic.twitter.com/vYW0YzFC5P

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 9, 2023

Also read: I-T officials search properties of K Laxma Reddy

Srinivasa Reddy files complaint with ECI

Meanwhile, Srinivasa Reddy lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the I-T raids at his house and office in Khammam and Hyderabad since early Thursday.

The complaint addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Electoral Roll Officer (ERO), and District Returning Officer (DRO), brought to their notice that his nomination filing was scheduled for 11 am on Thursday for Palair constituency and all the necessary arrangements were made.

Yet, “a series of incidents have happened from early morning today (Thursday)”, he said, adding: “Central agencies have been conducting their activity at multiple places with a seemingly ill intention to delay my nomination for Palair constituency.”

He said the time of filing nomination and the schedule were published well in advance.

“I’ve been stripped of my democratic right to file the nomination by creating the disturbances with ill-intention as mentioned above,” he said.

“As an Independent body, we request you to look into this and provide a swift resolution to uphold the democratic system,” Reddy said in the complaint.

Subsequently, he filed his nomination with the electoral officer post-noon on Thursday.

Hours before filing his nominations for the #Palair Assembly, I-T Dept officials raided #Congress leader #PonguletiSrinivas Reddy premises. The leader alleges this as an activity to delay his nomination and writes to #ECI for swift resolution. @TheSouthfirst pic.twitter.com/pXLNdLqpAr

— Bhaskar Basava (@bhaskar_basava_) November 9, 2023

Recent raids on Congress leaders and kin

Here is the list of Congress leaders whose premises were raided by I-T officials recently, the officers claiming to have seized crucial evidence.

• Kichannagari Laxma Reddy, Congress candidate from Maheswaram. The searches began at 5 am on 2 November, claiming allegations of funnelling money from businesses to elections.
• Giridhar Reddy, realtor and relative of Congress MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy. His Kokapet residence was searched because he was pooling money for the elections.
• Parijatha Narasimha Reddy, Badangpet Mayor. She quit the BRS and joined the Congress last year. She was on a tour of the temple town of Tirumala during the searches.
• Thummala Nageswara Rao, Congress candidate from Khammam constituency. He had recently left the BRS to join the Congress. Officials of the Election Commission of India officials and police searched his house in Khammam town to probe if he had violated the Model Code of Conduct.

The lone exception is the case of a BRS worker, V Laxma Reddy. His claim to fame was winning the Balapur Ganesh Laddu in an open auction in 2022 for ₹24.6 lakh. The raid was related to the source of his income.

Neither the ruling BRS nor the BJP have responded to the Congress charges over the raids.