Union Minister Smriti Irani today found Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s decision not to receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he arrived in Hyderabad for the BJP’s state-wide official meeting a “contempt of the institution”. She referred to KCR as a dictator and said he had “violated not only constitutional but also cultural traditions”.
Earlier, Chief Minister KCR attacked PM Modi during the campaign of opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha for the presidential election scheduled for July 18. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) boss referred to PM Modi as a “seller” and said the in-India claim was false. Although he now welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hours earlier he welcomed Jaswant Sinha at the airport.
This was followed by Ms Irani’s counterattack using the “dynastic politics” argument: “Politics may be a circus for the KCR family, for us it is a medium of national policy… Telangana is doing dynastic politics today. India will not tolerate this in any way.”
She said,”The Prime Minister meets him with great dignity and respect,”.
She challenged KCR’s declaration that Telangana has a development model that should be followed across India. “An organization which no longer fulfills the responsibility of receiving the Prime Minister, which believes that serving a family is a duty, can in no way be a function mannequin for the country.”
“One who hurts the dignity of the charter is a dictator. Today, KCR is a dictator,” she added.
She said that having the BJP executive council in Hyderabad was a “point of pride” for party workers. “In such a nationwide gathering, we take an oath to serve the nation.”
Earlier, as the three-day BJP meeting began on Friday, KCR’s son KT Rama Rao, a minister in his cabinet, poked those who were coming to participate. Urging them to eat Hyderabadi biryani and Irani tea, he also said that PM Modi needs to be checked out of Telangana’s development book.
