Sushma Swaraj openly opposes Bellary Reddys’ entry in BJP

mangaloretoday.com / CNN- IBN

New Delhi, March 06: Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has openly opposed the re-entry of ’tainted’ mining barons of Bellary, the Reddy brothers into the party. Reacting to the media reports, she has tweeted opposing their return. "I am opposed to the BSR alliance or merger with BJP in Karnataka. I have conveyed to Shri Raj Nath Singhji in writing that BJP must not permit this," Sushma tweeted.

 

Sushma’s open revolt is likely to force the BJP central leadership not to take the Reddy brothers back into the party. The Reddys had quit the BJP after they were arrested in the mining scam. They floated their own party called BSR Congress under the leadership of their confidante and former Karnataka minister B Sriramulu in 2012 to take on the BJP. The BSR Congress won 4 seats in the 2013 assembly elections in the state. After the failure of the experiment, the BSR Congress tried to merge with the Congress. The Congress declined their offer. After that the Karnataka BJP agreed to take them back into the party.

The BJP in Karnataka had confirmed that the party floated by the Reddys is going to be merged with the BJP very soon on Wednesday. Two of the BSR Congress MLAs including Sriramulu’s nephew Suresh Babu, also an MLA from the party is currently also in jail in cases related to illegal mining. But the Karnataka BJP defended the decision saying that when the Congress can ally with Lalu Prasad Yadav; they see no problem in allying with Sriramulu. The BJP was planning to field Sriramulu in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election from Bellary, currently held by his younger sister J Shantha.

 

Leader of the opposition in Karnataka Assembly Jagadish Shettar had said that they gave an invitation to BSR Congress and Sriramulu had accepted that. He added that Sriramulu personally has no cases against him.

Sriramulu’s godfather G Janardhana Reddy has been in jail for more than two and a half years. The Congress alleges that Sushma Swaraj had helped the Reddys to rise in the state BJP. She strongly denies such claims calling them politically motivated statements aimed at tarnishing her image.

Sushma also against Manu Sharma’s father

Susha Swaraj has also opposed Haryana Congress leader Venod Sharma’s entry into the BJP’s ally Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) led by Kuldeep Bishnoi. Venod Sharma is the father of Manu Sharma, convicted in the Jessica Lal murder case.

"I am strongly opposed to this. I have conveyed my views to Shri Kuldeep Bishnoi," she tweeted reacting to the report of Venod Sharma joining the HJC.