Thushar Vellappally behind Operation Kamala in Telangana: KCR

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has claimed that Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) leader Thushar Vellappally was behind 'Operation Kamala' (Operation Lotus) that was allegedly deployed by the BJP to poach opposition legislators.

Rao made the claim at an hour-long press conference at the Pragathi Bhavan in Hyderabad that was streamed live by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Thursday. He showed pictures claiming as proof of Thushar's involvement.

Rao said Thushar was a nominee of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He said the agents had operated through Thushar.

The son of SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Nadesan, Thushar had contested against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 general elections from Wayanad. He got 6% of the polled votes and finished third.

While referring to the recent arrest of three for allegedly attempting to bribe four TRS MLAs to defect to the BJP, Rao said the intention was to offer them Rs 100 crore.

According to Rao, the Operation also attempted to topple governments in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan. Rao said he'll share the video evidence with senior judges in the High Court and Supreme Court and the opposition leaders.

Rega Kantha Rao, Guvvala Balaraju and Beeram Harshvardh Reddy and Rohith Reddy were the MLAs who were the attempted targets of Operation Kamala.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan said that the allegations against Vallappally were baseless. He added that the visuals releases by KCR were morphed.

The Minister also questioned if it was possible to bring down the Telangana government with just 4 MLAs.