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Andhra Pradesh Minister for Industries, Commerce, and Food Processing TG Bharath on Tuesday, May 19, filed a police complaint against YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) youth wing working president Byreddy Siddharth Reddy after the latter accused the Minister of accepting a bribe of Rs 45 crore from a pharmaceutical company.
Addressing a crowd at a YSRCP organised protest against ‘revenge politics’ in front of the Kurnool Collectorate on May 14, Byreddy Siddharth accused Bharath of accepting a bribe without the knowledge of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national working president Nara Lokesh. In the same speech, Siddharth accused Bharath of usurping land in Kurnool and indulging in factionalism.
“You cannot even spell ‘faction’,” alleged Siddharth, adding, “If you indulge in factional politics to the detriment of innocent citizens, it will come back to affect you.”
In his complaint, Bharath alleged, “The statements made in the video are false, baseless, and intentionally circulated through social media platforms to create fear, alarm, and hatred among the public … The accused knowingly published and transmitted defamatory and false information through electronic media with deliberate intention to insult, defame and harm reputation.”
Based on the Minister’s complaint, a case was registered against Byreddy Siddharth under Sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 353(2) (statements conducing to public mischief), 356(1) (defamation), 356(2) (criminal defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
