The assault on BJP general secretary P Vishnuvardhan Reddy by Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi leader Dr Kolikapudi Srinivas Rao with a slipper during a debate in ABN Andhra Jyothy channel recently is taking curious turns.
Initially, the matter ended with issuing press statements against the TDP and the channel and later, the BJP announced boycott of the channel, till it tendered an unconditional apology.
But three days after the incident, the BJP leaders appear to have taken it very seriously. Following a suggestion from BJP state president Somu Veerraju, a delegation of the BJP leaders met Additional DGP Ravishankar Ayyannar and lodged a complaint against Kolikapudi as well as the TDP.
In his complaint, Vishnuvardhan Reddy alleged that the assault on him was a deliberate action by Kolikapudi as per the directions of TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, who is out to demoralise the BJP with violent attacks.
“The chappal attack on rivals, that began with Hotel Viceroy in August 1995 where late N T Rama Rao was assaulted, has been continuing as was evident from the attack on me during the TV channel debate,” he alleged.
But YSRC leaders are expressing surprise over Vishnu’s complaint.
“The incident happened in the channel office in Hyderabad. So, the BJP leader should have complained to the Hyderabad police. Why should they lodge a complaint with the Andhra DGP?” a YSRC leader asked.
He said the BJP leaders had done it deliberately only to embarrass the Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
“They know that the Andhra police cannot act on the crime that happened in Telangana. It appears the BJP and TDP have colluded together to trouble the Jagan government,” the YSRC leader said.
