Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president N. Ramchander Rao on Monday, 18 May firmly rejected demands for the resignation of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, whose son Bandi Bhageerath was arrested in a POCSO case. Speaking at a press conference in Hyderabad, Ramchander Rao argued that the minister had done nothing personally wrong and that calls for his dismissal were politically motivated.

BJP's Defence of Bandi Sanjay

Ramchander Rao was categorical in his stand. 'Bandi Sanjay has done no wrong. If his family members have done anything wrong, there will be action as per law,' he said. He maintained that holding a minister accountable for the alleged conduct of a family member — without any personal wrongdoing on the minister's part — sets a legally and constitutionally untenable precedent.

The BJP leader alleged that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) was spending crores of rupees to plaster posters across Telangana targeting Bandi Sanjay, calling it a 'malicious propaganda' campaign orchestrated to embarrass the union minister politically rather than pursue justice.

BJP Turns the Tables on BRS

Ramchander Rao launched a sharp counter-offensive, questioning the moral authority of BRS leaders to demand resignations. He invoked the arrest of Kalvakuntla Kavitha — daughter of former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) — in the Delhi excise policy case, asking why neither KCR nor BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) resigned at the time.

He further alleged that crimes against women rose by 67 per cent during BRS rule, citing the high-profile Jubilee Hills assault case and an instance where a woman sarpanch reportedly accused a BRS MLA of sexual harassment without any action being taken. 'Where are the moral values of the BRS party?' he asked.

Ramchander Rao also alleged that KCR and KTR should have faced arrest in the Kaleshwaram irrigation project case and an E-car race case respectively, but claimed that Congress had colluded with BRS to shield them — an allegation BRS has not yet publicly responded to.

Ramchander Rao Backs PM Modi's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' Call

Separately, Ramchander Rao participated in the 'Mera Bharat, Mera Yogdaan' programme at the Telangana BJP state office. Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal, he urged party workers to reduce unnecessary fuel consumption, promote indigenous products, and practise financial discipline as steps toward building a stronger Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Ramchander Rao also posted on X that he travelled to the event in an electric vehicle (EV) to demonstrate support for the Prime Minister's clean-energy vision. 'The future belongs to Electric Vehicles! Let us stand in support of Prime Minister Shri Modi's vision to build an eco-friendly nation by reducing our dependence on petrol and diesel,' he wrote.

Political Context

The episode underscores the intensifying battle between the BJP and BRS in Telangana ahead of future electoral cycles. The POCSO arrest of Bandi Bhageerath has handed the opposition a ready political weapon, while the BJP's counter-narrative — centred on BRS's own governance record — reflects a strategy of deflection through equivalence. How the courts proceed in the POCSO matter will determine whether the political noise around it sustains or fades.