Telangana BJP dismisses report of meeting ex-minister Etela Rajender, inviting him to join party

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 26 : Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party chief spokesperson K Krishna Saagar Rao on Wednesday dismissed the reports that his party's senior party leaders are meeting former minister and TRS MLA Etela Rajender and inviting him to join the party.
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao removed Etela Rajender from the ministry after he was accused of land grabbing. There have been reports that he was speaking with leaders of various political parties over the last few days as part of his potential campaign. He is also said to have met up with BJP leaders in this regard.
Krishna Saagar Rao said that BJP being a party with rich history follows all the political ethics and would never make a decision to invite a sitting MLA from other parties to join BJP.
He said that BJP does not have a history of allowing a sitting MLA without resignation to enter the party."If any leader from other political parties is willing to work under the guidelines of BJP, under the principles of BJP and further to work for the nation, they are unconditionally welcomed into the party but the decision must be made by the person who wants to join BJP," Rao asserted.
"Even in Telangana, BJP has evolved to be a strong party with the support from people. We do not keep waiting for leaders from other political parties to come and join BJP," he added.
On the upcoming state elections, he said that his party will be a strong competitor against TRS and might emerge as the winner.
He mentioned that there are news reports about Etela Rajender contesting as an independent and reaching out to various political parties for support. He reminded that there is no precedence of BJP supporting another independent candidate and withdrawing from the contest.