Hyderabad: Telangana Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud on Sunday said that BRS working president KT Rama Rao should agree to undergo a drug test and, if needed, all the elected representatives could also be tested during the budget session of the assembly starting on Monday.Responding to the arrest of BRS former MLA P Rohith Reddy and others, who tested positive for drug consumption at a farmhouse in Moinabad, the TPCC president said there was no politics involved in the incident. He said the EAGLE team was only doing its job and had raided the farmhouse as part of Revanth Reddy-govt’s all-out efforts to make Telangana a drug-free state.However, Mahesh Goud said that Rohith Reddy and others being caught red-handed only vindicated the Congress’ stand that drug culture allegedly boomed during the nearly 10-year tenure of the previous BRS govt.He demanded that KTR should explain to the people of Telangana his party’s former MLA’s involvement in the ‘drug party’ and clarify the BRS stand on the issue. He recalled that when Revanth Reddy was the TPCC president, he and other senior Congress leaders had demanded that KTR undergo a drug test following allegations of his involvement in the issue. “However, KTR did not take a drug test then. At least now, he should clear his name by undergoing a drug test,” he demanded.Meanwhile, Congress activists and leaders, led by MLC Balmoori Venkat, staged a protest at Gandhi Bhavan, burnt effigies of KTR, and raised slogans of “No Drugs, Save Telangana.” Tandur Congress MLA B Manohar Reddy said the incident at Rohith Reddy’s farmhouse was not a minor gathering but pointed to a larger drugs racket that needed to be exposed.He asserted that the drug mafia must be eradicated and warned that such activities were playing with the lives of the youth of Telangana. “The people of Tandur were embarrassed by the incident,” he said. CPI leader Narayana demanded the suspension of TDP MP Putta Mahesh and stringent action against BRS former MLA Rohith Reddy for allegedly consuming drugs. He said the spread of drug culture and betting apps was misleading the youth and urged young people to stay away from such social evils. “Sports should be used for the development of youth rather than for corporate profits,” he added.
