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Journalism of Courage
The Income Tax department Thursday raided the residence and offices of Telangana Congress leader Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, set to contest from the Palair constituency in Khammam district in the Assembly polls set to be held on November 30.
Reddy, who was expected to file his nomination papers Thursday, had said the I-T department would conduct raids on him, pointing at I-T raids on November 2 at the residence and offices of industrialist Kichannagiri Laxma Reddy, the Congress candidate from the Maheshwaram Assembly constituency.
He alleged that the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the BJP were hand in glove to intimidate Congress leaders and candidates. A campaign manager of Reddy said the I-T officers arrived early in the morning and seized phones and laptops.
“His supporters have gathered outside his house in large numbers and raised slogans against the I-T department. They tried to barge into the house but the security stopped them,” the manager said.
In 2014, Reddy won the Khammam Lok Sabha seat on a YSR Congress ticket but joined the BRS later. The BRS did not nominate him for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and suspended him earlier this year for anti-party activities. On July 2 this year, Reddy and former minister Jupally Krishna Rao joined the Congress at a rally attended by Rahul Gandhi.
Last week, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) issued a statement accusing theeBRS, led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, of allegedly conspiring with the BJP’s central dispensation to intimidate its candidates with I-T raids.
TPCC spokesperson G Satish said the BRS and the BJP were together to “threaten and demoralise” Congress candidates by unleashing IT searches which tied them down at their homes while they should be out campaigning.
