The Hayathnagar police under the Rachakonda Commissionerate in Hyderabad has filed a case against Telangana Bharatiya Janta Party ( BJP) President Bandi Sanjay, BJP leader Jitta Balakrishna Reddy, and his wife Rani Rudrama Reddy for organising a play on Telangana Formation Day on 2 June, in which allegedly “defamatory” remarks were made against Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
A case has been also filed against BJP cultural wing member Boddu Yellanna who had performed in the play.
Police have booked them under Sections 114 (Abettor present when offence is committed), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 505 (intent to incite) read with 109 (Punishment of abetment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Among those named in the FIR, Jitta Balakrishna Reddy was arrested on the night of Thursday, 9 June. Reddy, who was traveling in a car near Ghatkesar, was tailed by the police and taken into custody.
In a video taken by his followers, Reddy is seen questioning the police officers about the manner in which he is being summoned to the police station, allegedly without being given a notice.
The case was filed following a complaint by TRS social media convenor Y Satish Reddy.
The police who examined the video of the play said, “It is evident that the organisers have misused the dais and the event which was organised to celebrate the Telangana Formation Day, to make derogatory comments, personal attacks, depicting the Chief Minister of the State as a boozer, cheater, etc.”
In the play, a man enacting the role of the chief minister is seen drinking and wants to hear from his servant about what the public thinks of his governance.
While the CM boasts about his welfare schemes and irrigation projects, the man playing the role of the servant says that the people think that the state government has simply appropriated national schemes, and goes on to make several allegations of corruption in the irrigation projects.
Police said that the play had “lowered the image of a person elected by democratic means” holding a constitutional post. They claimed that the remarks against the chief minister constituted hate speech.
Justifying their action, police said that the play which was aired on news channel V6, a channel run by BJP leader G Vivek Venkataswamy, had “caused distress among the public.”
“The skit was videographed and telecast by the V6, a Telugu TV news channel and generated views to their story and caused distress among certain groups by disseminating/telecasting the hate speech to provoke hatred among the groups on the basis of their association which may cause threat to the democratic order.
Thus, such act has gone against the democratic ethos and hurts the public will…” the press release said.
Earlier, the Telangana police had filed at least six cases against former BJP leader Teenmaar Mallanna for allegedly insulting the chief minister and ridiculing his son minister KT Rama Rao.
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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