In furtherance of his ambition to play a key role in national politics, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Sunday, 11 September, discussed with former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy the issues relating to Opposition unity, how the Congress lost credibility over time, and the need for regional parties to rise as one force to topple the BJP government at the Centre.
KCR, who has already set the ball rolling on stitching together a credible alternative to the BJP by conferring with several Opposition leaders in the country, has been toying with the idea of forming a national-level party for a pan-India identity.
His Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has already sent out enough signals of recent that the national party, likely to be christened Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), might be unveiled on Dasara on 5 October.
Galvanising the Opposition, again
During the talks at Pragati Bhavan, which lasted for more than three hours, the JD(S) leader praised KCR’s intention to form a national party and promised his support for the new initiative.
He felt that the nation needed Telangana’s development model, an official press release from the state’s CMO said.
KCR told Kumaraswamy that he had already built a consensus on the national agenda that the Opposition should have in its campaign against the BJP.
“I have already discussed several issues with the intelligentsia, economists, and experts in various fields for formulating the agenda,” he said.
He told him that there was an acute need for an alternative to the BJP in the wake of the Congress losing its steam over time. “The people no longer believe the Congress is a credible alternative to the BJP. They do not trust the Congress anymore. This accentuates the need for a bigger role for regional parties in ousting the BJP,” he said.
He told him that pressure was increasing on him to lead the nation. “The people are asking me to wage a war against the communal BJP as it is creating obstacles for the Telangana government, which is in pursuit of several development programmes,” he said.
KCR, HDK discussed policies
Both leaders also went over the economic policies and other development initiatives in force in various other countries to draw the best practices that suit India.
They felt that the BJP’s policies were destructive in nature, besides making an attempt to distort history. They felt that there was a need to check this tendency in the interests of the nation.
KCR apprised Kumaraswamy of his recent interaction with farmers from various states. He said he learnt from them that the agricultural policies in their respective states and those being pursued by the Central government were hindering the growth of the sector.
He told Kumaraswamy that the farmers were awestruck when he told them that the Telangana government was providing 24×7 power supply to the farm sector for free, and that the state government provided crop investment through the Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bheema insurance schemes.
“The farmers asked me to strive for ushering in a farmers’ rule at the Centre,” KCR told Kumaraswamy, according to the official statement.
Earlier in the day, Telangana Municipal Administration Minister and KCR’s son KT Rama Rao met Kumaraswamy at the hotel where he was staying and discussed issues relating to development in various sectors.
After the meeting, the Karnataka leader tweeted that he had a meaningful discussion with KTR and described him as a stable leader with a great vision for development.
Had a meaningful discussion with @KTRTRS Honorable Minister of Telangana for Municipal Administration, Urban Development, Industries, Commerce, Information Technology and Communication in Hyderabad. He is a stable leader with a great vision for development. pic.twitter.com/F47ENrsj8K
— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) September 11, 2022
