BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy in row over comments against IPS officer

Opposition BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy on Friday found himself in a row with the Telangana IPS Officers' Association demanding an apology from him for his ''baseless and vicious'' allegations against Karimnagar Commissioner of Police Gaush Alam by naming his religion. AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi condemned the ''anti-Muslim hate speech'' by the MLA. Facing flak, Kaushik Reddy tendered an apology for his comments, saying they were not intentional. Kaushik Reddy, MLA from Huzurabad in Karimnagar district, was stopped by police on Thursday when he was proceeding to 'Sammakka Jatara' (a religious festival) at Veenavanka in the district, along with party workers, following information that law and order is likely to be disturbed. The police sought to take him into preventive custody. He, however, held a road blockade, causing obstruction to people, police said. When police tried to take him into preventive custody, he made comments against the Commissioner of Police and another police official. Condemning Kaushik Reddy's allegations, the IPS Officers' Association said that it is deeply disturbed by the cheap insinuations made regarding the serving officer's religion. ''While the local police officers were discharging their lawful duties, the Hon'ble MLA, without any basis and provocation, had made false and unsubstantiated allegations against Gaush Alam (Commissioner of Police) by naming his religion and charging that he was trying to convert people of other faiths into his religion,'' the Association said in a release. In a statement, Kaushik Reddy claimed that he was put under severe pressure when he was going to the 'Sammakka Jatara'. His comments were a ''slip of the tongue due to the pressure'', he said, apologising for his remarks. Meanwhile, Owaisi said it is wholly unacceptable and reprehensible to communalise and politicise the lawful discharge of duties by public servants. Such conduct warrants strict action, he said. ''The @BRSparty MLA from Huzurabad has made highly objectionable and deeply offensive remarks against the Commissioner of Police, Karimnagar. These remarks are a blatant attack on the officer's Muslim religious identity and amount to open communal slur,'' Owaisi said in a post on X.