Telangana CM KCR skips meeting PM Modi second time, says nobody can stop change at national level

Bengaluru: On a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a day-long visit to Hyderabad - he was attending an event at the completion of 20 years of the establishment of the Indian School of Business (ISB) - Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao flew down to Bengaluru, causing much dissatisfaction among BJP leaders. This is the second time that the Telangana Chief Minister skipped meeting PM Modi, breaching the protocol at the airport. In February, KCR had skipped meeting PM Modi at the airport when he had visited Hyderabad to unveil the statue of equality at Muchintal. Rao had cited health reasons.

KCR held a meeting with former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda at the latter's residence in Bengaluru on Thursday. Karnataka's former Chief Minister and Deve Gowda's son HD Kumaraswamy was also present at the meeting."Chief Minister Sri K. Chandrashekar Rao met with former Prime Minister Sri @H_D_Devegowda and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Sri @HD_Kumaraswamy in Bangalore today," Telangana CMO tweeted.

While PM Modi had taken a jibe at KCR and parties ruled by families in Hyderabad, KCR, without naming anyone, said that change at the national level is inevitable and "nobody can stop it". "We've discussed national and Karnataka politics issues. There'll be a change at the national level and nobody can stop it...Tribals, farmers and the poor aren't happy in the country. Industries are getting closed, GDP is crashing, inflation is rising and the rupee's value is falling, the Telangana CM said in Bengaluru.

KCR's meeting with the Opposition leaders is a part of his effort to bring the anti-BJP leaders together and form a third front ahead of the 2024 General elections. Earlier last week, he was in New Delhi where he met Aam Aadmi Supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. HD Kumaraswamy said today, "Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao is working for an alternative front, he is meeting several leaders and visiting various states. He wants to save the country and bring change in the interest of the nation and the poor people."

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at KCR's TRS government in Telangana and said that when parties dedicated to one family come to power, members of that family become the biggest faces of corruption. Addressing a public meeting in the state, PM Modi said, "Due to political dynasties, the youth, talents of the country do not even get an opportunity to enter politics. Parivarwad crushes every dream of such youth and closes every door for them. Therefore, freedom from dynasties, freedom from family parties is also a resolution for the India of the 21st century." He added, "The people of Telangana are seeing that when parties dedicated to one family come to power, the members of that family become the biggest faces of corruption. The people of Telangana are seeing that family parties only prosper and fill their coffers." The Prime Minister said that when political dynasties are removed from power, it opens up avenues of development.