BRS preparing legal onslaught against Congress govt over vendetta politics

The BRS is preparing a series of legal petitions against the Congress government after the Telangana High Court quashed FIRs against party activists. The verdict, seen as a safeguard for political dissent, is expected to nullify most pending cases

Hyderabad: Fresh from the landmark verdict of the Telangana High Court curtailing misuse of FIRs in cases linked to social media posts, the BRS is preparing to mount a full-scale legal onslaught against the Revanth Reddy government over vendetta politics.

On Wednesday, the High Court quashed three cases against BRS activist Shashidhar Goud alias Nalla Balu, declaring that political speech, however harsh or unpalatable, is constitutionally protected. The judgment also laid down binding guidelines to prevent the arbitrary filing of FIRs.

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According to party insiders, the BRS legal cell is drafting petitions on behalf of nearly 50 activists who were booked for criticising Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, ministers or government policies. Since December 2023, over 200 cases have been registered against around 50 BRS social media activists, many of them booked in multiple police stations for the same posts.

BRS social media heads, including former Telangana Digital Media director Dileep Konatham and BRS spokesperson Manne Krishank, have borne the brunt, facing over 30 and 25 cases respectively. Dileep Konatham was picked up from his home at midnight, while Krishank spent 10 days in jail before courts intervened. Both now describe the High Court ruling as a constitutional lifeline for political dissent.

“We welcome the High Court verdict, which gives clear guidelines to prevent misuse of FIRs in such cases,” Dileep told Telangana Today.

Legal experts say nearly 75 to 80 per cent of the pending cases followed a similar format with minor changes and are likely to be quashed in light of the new guidelines.

With the court reaffirming that “political speech, even if harsh or offensive, is constitutionally protected”, legal experts expect at least 75 to 80 per cent of the cases against BRS cadre will collapse. For a party that has been repeatedly pointing out State-sponsored intimidation, the judgment has come as a relief in tackling the Congress government’s high-handedness.

BRS leaders alleged that the Congress has weaponised the police to stifle dissent, with activists, journalists and social workers dragged into FIRs for criticism. Many complain of raids, seizure of devices and harassment of family members.

“This was political vendetta, plain and simple. Police overstepped their duties to appease the ruling party,” Krishank said.

For the BRS, the High Court verdict is not just a legal reprieve but also political ammunition. By turning the battle to the courts, the party is hoping to expose the Congress regime’s intolerance towards dissent and highlight the misuse of law as a tool of intimidation. With petitions being lined up for each activist, the Congress could soon find itself in the dock.