PK Behind KCR’s Fever?

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s absence at the airport during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Hyderabad has triggered a war between the BJP and the TRS on the social media.

While the TRS ministers posted tweets castigating Modi for discriminating the TRS government under #EqualityForTelangana, the BJP leaders censured KCR for violating the protocol and stooping to abysmal levels and made #ShameOnYouKCR trend on Twitter.

A couple of days ago, Modi visited Hyderabad to unveil the Statue of Equality erected at Mucchintal. KCR personally inspected the arrangements for Modi’s visit but in the last minute, he handed over the responsibility of welcoming Modi at the airport to minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav.

There is talk from official sources that KCR stayed away from welcoming Modi as he was suffering from fever. At the same time, there is buzz that KCR abstained from welcoming the PM due to suggestions from election strategist Prashant Kishor, who is moving close with the anti-BJP forces, in connection with setting up the Third Front. KCR also expressed interest in nation politics and Third Front during his earlier public speeches.

However, his political opponents, mainly the BJP, alleged that KCR insulted the Constitution by violating the protocol. Political observers felt that KCR kept himself away from Modi’s tour to send a clear message to the state BJP cadre that they cannot cow him down as he does not give a hoot to their party boss itself.

Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay took exception to KCR’s absence and said it was not ‘fever’ that provoked KCR to abstain from attending the PM’s tour but sheer ‘recklessness’. Did not Modi give you appointment whenever you went to Delhi? Is it the way you behave with the head of the nation? KCR lacks a character and people are laughing at you, Bandi said.

Political analysts said that KCR distanced himself from Modi’s visit to make the country know he was anti-BJP. He opposed the BJP-led NDA for not buying paddy from Telangana even when the country fared poor in the Hunger Index. After the Budget was presented in the Parliament, he held a press conference and lambasted the Centre for not making any allocations to Telangana even while it was showing progress on all fronts.

Further, he also stressed the need to amend the Constitution which drew the attention of the entire nation and there is talk that KCR could be trying to unite all the anti-BJP forces in the country through his absence at the airport. At the same time, KCR could also be trying to put a check to the criticism against him regarding ‘denouncing Modi in Hyderabad but being friendly with the PM in Delhi’.