ADILABAD: Two key BJP leaders from Adilabad, MLA Payal Shankar and MP Godam Nagesh, raised quite a few eyebrows when they attended the Praja Palana celebrations, organised here on Thursday by the Congress government marking its two years in office.

Curiously, they attended the programme even though BJP district president Pathange Brahmanandam and his followers were placed under house arrest ahead of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s visit to Adilabad.

Brahmanandam was among a host of state saffron party leaders who condemned the alleged derogatory comments made by the chief minister against Hindu gods and goddesses.

Payal Shankar, who represents Adilabad in the state Assembly, and Godam Nagesh, the parliamentarian from the Adilabad Lok Sabha, not only shared the dais with the chief minister but also delivered speeches, lauding him for allocating funds for the development of the constituency.

When asked about their presence at the public meeting, Shankar reasoned: “What’s wrong in attending the event, especially since the chief minister has allocated funds for constituency development. Revanth Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek support for state’s development. Likewise, we are also working for the development of Adilabad.”