Hyderabad: Ina charged media interaction following his padayatra in Jubilee Hills, Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Sunday delivered a fiery speech lashing out at the Congress and BRS, appealing to Hindu voters, and making serious corruption charges, drawing sharp reactions from rival parties and civil society.

Bandi Sanjay framed the by-election as a “Dharma Yuddham” (righteous war), asserting that “B J P means Hindu, Hindu means B J P,” and accused the Congress and BRS of working solely for the benefit of the 20 per cent Muslim population while allegedly ignoring the 80 per cent Hindu majority. He claimed Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had made statements implying Hindu votes were unnecessary, and urged Jubilee Hills voters to demonstrate the strength of the Hindu vote bank.

The minister also challenged BRS leader KTR to publicly swear at the Bhagyalakshmi temple that he had never consumed drugs, threatening to appeal to voters against him if he failed to do so. He accused KTR of winning elections solely by invoking his father’s name, stating: “Without his father, even dogs wouldn’t bark at him.”

Sanjay levelled serious allegations against BRS and Congress leaders regarding the mysterious death of Gopinath, claiming that his mother’s police complaint had been ignored and that former minister Puvvada Ajay had threatened Gopinath’s son to prevent him from returning to India. He presented voter I D discrepancies and affidavit inconsistencies involving Maganti Sunitha, alleging a conspiracy to usurp Gopinath’s assets with KTR’s support.

He warned that if BRS won, Jubilee Hills residents risked losing their property documents and public parks to encroachments. He accused Chief Minister Revanth and KTR of colluding to suppress investigations into Gopinath’s death and property disputes.

On governance, Sanjay lambasted Congress and BRS for failing to provide basic amenities in Jubilee Hills, despite massive borrowingsRs 6 lakh crore under BRS and Rs 2 lakh crore under Congress. He alleged that funds were looted rather than used for public welfare and that only the BJP, through central support, could ensure development.

He claimed Congress and BRS were distributing cashRs 7,000 and Rs 5,000 respectivelyto buy votes, and urged voters to accept the money but vote for BJP’s lotus symbol. He accused both parties of appeasement politics, citing the distribution of sewing machines and mixers to Muslims, and reiterated that “Congress is synonymous with Muslims.”

Sanjay portrayed BJP as the only party fighting fearlessly for the people, contrasting it with what he called the corrupt and dynastic rule of “R K Brothers” (Revanth and KTR). He urged voters to choose between development and destruction and promised to bring central funds for Jubilee Hills if BJP candidate Deepak Reddy was elected.