Hyderabad: In a surprising move, the ruling Bharat Rashtriya Samithi (PRS) party has announced that it will boycott Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Telangana today. This decision comes just months ahead of the Telangana state assembly elections.
Prime Minister Modi is set to visit the state to inaugurate central government projects worth Rs 6,100 crore and attend a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally. Typically, the Chief Minister of the state welcomes the Prime Minister during such visits, but Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao will not be present to welcome him today.
This is not the first time Chandrasekhar Rao has snubbed Prime Minister Modi. Last April, he did not welcome the Prime Minister when he visited Telangana, and he has also skipped government events attended by Prime Minister Modi in the past. In fact, Chandrasekhar Rao has ignored Prime Minister Modi’s visits to Telangana on four separate occasions.
Speaking to the media, KT Rama Rao, the working president of the PRS party and son of Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao, stated, “Our party has decided to boycott Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Telangana. Ever since he became the Prime Minister, Modi has been operating in an anti-Telangana mindset.”
The PRS party accuses the central government of not fulfilling its promises made during the separation of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. They claim that the central government has delayed various projects implemented by the PRS government for the benefit of Telangana. Prime Minister Modi’s recent announcement of a Rs 521 crore coach manufacturing plant in Telangana, as opposed to the promised relocation of a Rs 20,000 crore train coach manufacturing facility from Gujarat, has further irked the PRS party.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Modi’s comments about Telangana creating a “child” state and killing its “mother” Andhra have not been well-received by the PRS party. KT Rama Rao stated, “We have decided to boycott his visit to condemn his anti-Telangana behavior.”
Prime Minister Modi’s visit today was expected to be an opportunity for him to showcase the central government’s projects and rally support for the BJP ahead of the upcoming elections. However, with the PRS party’s decision to boycott his visit, it remains to be seen how this will impact the political landscape in Telangana.