If political leaders speak before media on any issue, it is a common phenomenon that people recall the history and past of the leader – his deeds and misdeeds equally.

If former Minister and BJP leader Kavuri Sambasiva Rao has to say something on corruption, no doubt that people would immediately recall how he evaded Rs 1,000 crore debt to the banks. And subsequent protests how the bank representatives protested with black ribbons tied to their mouths before Sambasiva Rao’s office in Hyderabad. It’s all past.

Sambasiva, who used to praise and play second fiddle to then Congress bigwigs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, has made his moves quickly to jump into the TDP sensing that the Congress would face severe drubbing following bifurcation just before 2014 elections. However, he could not get enough space to sneak into Telugu Desam Party and joined the BJP.

It would certainly be a farce, if the leader of that stature speaks on corruption. Following denial of special status to Andhra Pradesh, the BJP leaders are engaged in fast devising strategy to avert damage to the party. Sambasiva Rao too joined the bandwagon.

Speaking to media persons on Wednesday, he claimed that the corruption has come down significantly after Narendra Modi took the reigns at the Centre.

“This shows the transparency of the Modi government, there is no single allegation of corruption against Modi in the two-year stint of Modi,” he said. He further said that the BJP wished that such corruption-free administration would prevail in all other States too.

Although there is some truth in his words that the corruption has come down after the BJP came to power, there is need to curtail the corruption in the States too. If that’s been the case, it would be fair enough if Sambasiva Rao make these remarks after repaying all his debts to the banks.