Ex MP Jithender Reddy’s ‘kick-in-the-butt’ tweet creates flutter in BJP

HYDERABAD: Fissures in the Telangana unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) don’t seem to close. On the other hand, the schism is widening. Most leaders, especially those seniors who migrated into the BJP from other parties and those with long and rich experience, aren’t liking the style of functioning of the party’s state unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

Embers of the simmering discontent among them don’t seem to have been doused. A senior leader A P Jithender Reddy is latest among those stoking rebellion. A former floor leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in Lok Sabha, A P Jithender Reddy took to twitter to vent out his bottled up rage against the State leadership.

He posted a video of a vet kicking on an impudent butt of a buffalo to force its way into a cage. One kick, and the job is done — the beast jumped into the cage as if to demonstrate that it’s reined in.

Apparently, the hybrid beast is a cross between a bison and a buffalo. The former MP is so imaginative in picking the video to tweet that he indeed not only meant to kicking it, but even to showcase the typical beastly arrogance of the 'animal'.

He must have felt so much disgusted with the state leadership that he suggested this kind of a “treatment” to his local boss.

“This treatment is what’s required for BJP Telangana BJP leadership,” he tweeted. He had tagged Home Minister Amit Shah and senior BJP functionary B L Santosh only to draw their attention to the state of affairs in the Telangana unit of the party, while venting out his indignation.

Of course, he had deleted the tweet later for obvious reasons. But it caught the attention of tweeple. However, he tweeted again tagging two more handles -- Sunil Bansal and Telangana BJP unit. This is just to reiterate his ire.

Well, it’s just a few days ago that former Finance Minister of Telangana and Huzurabad MLA Eatala Rajender and former Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy expounded their cup of woes to Home Minister Amit Shah. Rajgopal Reddy reportedly went to the extent of threatening to quit the BJP and get back to the Congress.

Rajender has been swallowing humiliation grudgingly in the BJP for quite sometime. When he had indicated at a press conference on June 27 that he had no problem with anyone in the BRS, including the kin of KCR within the party, but his issue was with KCR himself, it seemed as if he’s waving a white flag and sending feelers to his former boss that he was keen to return to the BRS. Rajender, in his press conference, also said that he had not exited from the TRS, but he was “thrown out”. Maybe he wants to tell KCR that air is clear from his side. Is KCR ready to take the signal and allow the homecoming of prodigal son is a million-dollar question.

Though Komatireddy and Eatala were asked to stay back in the BJP and that they responded in the affirmative, it’s not clear as to how long would they stick to the word they had given to Shah.

Even those original BJP leaders, including Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, are not happy with Bandi Sanjay, who initially filled fizz into the party. Now that it’s dissipated, even the national leadership is keeping its proverbial fingers crossed on what to do.

So, will the BJP’s leadership do what the vet did to the beast to set its house in order, though it’s too late for them to take to course-correction? Wait and watch.