Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai raised questions on social media over the handling of a recent drug case involving a parliamentarian.
In a post on X, he wrote: “A TDP MP under scanner in drug bust on weekend, gets bail, is back in Parliament today. Would any ordinary citizen get such leeway? What happened to zero tolerance? Hearing shocking stories of rampant drug spread in power circles.”
The case involves Putta Mahesh Kumar, a Member of Parliament from the Telugu Desam Party.
According to reports, the MP was allegedly caught consuming drugs over the weekend.
Officials conducted tests which reportedly confirmed drug consumption. He was granted station bail on the same day, which is a shocker of the shocks.
The incident has been widely reported in the media in both Telugu states and has also drawn attention at the national level following Sardesai’s post.
Several social media users responded to the tweet with differing views. A user named PB commented, “But no one can question the judiciary.”
Another user, Srujan Reddy, wrote, “Got station bail in a Congress-ruled state. Why don’t you mention that?”
Kanchan Mishra, another user, added, “When power meets privilege, accountability disappears. If this were an ordinary citizen, would they be back to work in 48 hours? ‘Zero tolerance’ shouldn’t depend on your position.”