After the Bhartiya Janata Party won 48 seats in the Hyderabad municipal elections on December 5, 2020, which resulted in a hung house, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi while wearing a gorgeous shawl.
In a meeting on December 12, 2020, KCR claimed he wanted his party admitted into the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), according to Modi’s statement on Tuesday. “KCR needed support in the Hyderabad municipal body. He came with a fancy shawl and gave me a lot of respect…which was quite uncharacteristic of KCR. Then, he said the country is progressing under you and we also want to be part of the NDA and induct us. In return, he wanted help in the municipal body. I told him that your acts are such that Modi cannot join with you and refused him entry into the NDA as well as to help him in any way,” the Prime Minister said in Telangana.
According to sources, the PM made this revelation to demonstrate that there is no “backhand deal” between the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Telangana and that the BJP is a serious contender in the state given that even the chief minister had once considered joining the NDA. The BJP and BRS are under fire from the Congress for allegedly working together to prevent the grand old party from taking power in the state.
According to sources, Modi also intended to convey to the party’s leadership that the BRS and BJP are at loggerheads over state politics and will both run strong candidates in the assembly elections. The PM said that the Bharatiya Janata Party chose to sit in the opposition in the Hyderabad municipal corporation but did not side with the BRS which torments BJP workers and is corrupt and Modi has a strong stand against corruption.
According to reports, Modi hoped to expose KCR, who has been harshly criticizing the BJP, by revealing that the BRS president had once expressed interest in joining the NDA.
In fact, the Prime Minister stated that he had completed his task and desired to pass the torch to his son, KTR, citing another meeting that he had with KCR in Delhi. “The CM said he would send KTR to me and that I should bless him. I told him, ‘KCR, this is democracy and not a monarchy. How can you give the chair to your son like you are an emperor’. I told him that the people of Telangana will decide who will be the next CM,” the PM said.
Sources said the Prime Minister could have revealed this as the BJP and Modi himself have been against dynastic politics, and he has been speaking on all forums against “parivaarvaad” in regional parties.
The second meeting, which is being discussed, may take place on September 3, 2021. KCR has not since had a meeting with the prime minister.
KCR, according to Modi, has not been able to “look him in the eye” and refuses to even see his shadow. Prior to that, he would greet me at the airport, present me with garlands, and show me a lot of respect. After these meetings with KCR, where I rejected his membership into the NDA, all of that abruptly came to an end. No corrupt individual may be seated next to me, the PM declared. Since 2022, the chief minister has avoided meeting with Modi and broken protocol whenever the prime minister has visited Telangana.
KT Rama Rao, KCR’s son, termed the PM’s words “white lies” and accused him of suffering from “selective amnesia”. KTR held a press conference in Hyderabad after the PM’s rally.
“PM Modi is lying through his teeth and he always does this before elections. It’s shameful that the PM of this nation is lying. He should start writing scripts for films. He will win an Oscar for acting and scriptwriting. Have we been bitten by a mad dog? KCR is a fighter, he will never work with a cheater like you. We are not Ghulam of Delhi or Gujarat. Why will we take NOC from Modi if KCR indeed wanted to make me the CM? Who is he?” KTR said in the press conference.
