The detractors of the two parties have charged that their tie-up has been reflected even in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.
On Wednesday, the CBI arrested a former chartered accountant of BRS MLC K Kavitha, the daughter of K Chandrashekar Rao or KCR, in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi liquor policy case in which senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, the Delhi Deputy CM, is also an accused.
In Parliament a few days ago, the AAP and the BRS were among a few parties in the Opposition ranks that continued to demand a separate discussion on the raging Adani Group-Hindenburg report row while taking a common stance against clubbing it with the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address.
Kejriwal along with the AAP’s Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann were among the Opposition leaders who participated in the BRS’s mega Khammam rally last month. KCR had visited the Delhi government-run schools in May last year.
There seems to be various factors behind the growing closeness between the two parties. After the AAP’s sweep in the Punjab Assembly polls early last year, its leaders had listed Telangana among the states where the party would try to make inroads and make a bid to contest Assembly elections.
The AAP’s presence in most states, especially in southern India, is however insignificant. Following the Gujarat Assembly polls in December last year, the decade-old party bagged the tag of a national political party after securing representation in the Delhi, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat Assemblies besides the Rajya Sabha.
KCR’s May visit to Delhi was described as an “exercise in federalism” by the AAP leaders, where “states learn good practices from each other and implement changes for the betterment of the country”.
At the Khammam rally, Kejriwal spoke about the Narendra Modi-led central government’s alleged bids to undermine and topple non-BJP governments. “Governors are being used by Modi to create troubles for CMs. How will a country progress if the country’s PM spends all day on how to trouble which CM, which state to send CBI and ED to. He only thinks which government to topple. Today, the country is demanding change. The BJP has ruined the country. It is time to change the government,” he charged.
The bonhomie between the AAP and the BRS is a “function of political necessity and aligned interests”, said some senior AAP leaders. “AAP has been saying for the past few years that someone needs to stand up to BJP and its tactics to stall work of the elected governments. However, at the time, not many understood because only AAP was facing the brunt. Over the years, others have realised that the country’s federal structure is under attack and non-BJP governments are being hounded,” said a senior party leader.
When asked about the relationship between the two parties, the AAP’s Telangana in-charge Somnath Bharti said, “Look at what is happening in MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi). Even though the MCD election took place two months ago, the BJP is not letting the new MCD dispensation function. People understand this. We all have to fight the illegal, unconstitutional and dictatorial Modi government. This is the time to see which parties are equally aggrieved.”
Asked about the alleged nexus between the AAP-BRS leaders in the Delhi liquor scam, Bharti dismissed such allegations as “false”.
Recently, in its supplementary prosecution complaint, the ED charged that AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair had received kickbacks to the tune of Rs 100 crore from the “South Group” allegedly comprising individuals identified as Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (YSRCP MP), Raghav Magunta, Sarath Reddy, and Kavitha. Kavitha has denied the allegations.
Some functionaries of the AAP and the BRS had allegedly started interacting with each other more frequently after the “South Group” applied for liquor licences under the Delhi Excise Policy.
“Why did they delay MCD elections (in early 2022) under the guise of the Delhi civic body’s unification. There was no so-called scam then. Across the nation, the parties that are aggrieved need to come together. When CM Kejriwal spoke in Telangana, he stressed on the need to learn from good practices in different states. We are all worried about the unconstitutional actions of the BJP-led Centre. The basic fabric is being attacked,” Bharti said.
Asked about the AAP’s plans for the upcoming Telangana polls, Bharti said, “It is too early to think about that right now.”
On the bonds between the two parties, BRS MP Nama Nageshwara Rao said that the BRS will work with “like-minded parties” on issues that concern the states. “AAP is facing similar problems like Telangana with the Centre not cooperating by not giving funds etc. The issues that both parties have raised are common,’’ he said.
(With ENS inputs from Hyderabad)
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Mallica JoshiMallica Joshi is the Chief Reporter, Delhi with The Indian Express. Sh… read more