Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s three-day tour to New Delhi failed to yield any result, but there are reports that he is planning to make political gains from his tour.
It is not exactly known whether KCR had really sought any appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union home minister Amit Shah or not.
But the TRS leaders have started saying that by denying an appointment to KCR on crucial issues, Modi and Shah had insulted him.
But sources said KCR had made no such attempt. All that he did was to depute his cabinet colleagues and MPs who had a forced meeting with Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and civil supplies minister Piyush Goel on the paddy procurement issue.
But they did not get any assurance from the Union ministers, who made it clear that the Centre would not procure even a single kg of parboiled rice from the state during the Rabi season and there was no concrete assurance on the enhanced procurement from the state.
Having returned to the state empty handed, KCR is said to be making a big political issue out of the Centre’s refusal to procure paddy in Rabi season.
More than that, he is said to be planning to play a “Telangana self-respect” card for being denied the appointment by Prime Minister and Home Minister.
The TRS leaders are reportedly planning to raise the Telangana self-respect issue on November 29, which has been declared as “Deeksha Diwas” to recall the 12 years of KCR’s fast unto death for Telangana.
However, the BJP leaders are also planning to give a retort to KCR in this regard. Especially KCR’s former colleague and presently BJP MLA from Huzurabad Eatala Rajender is getting ready to counter this “self-respect” bogey of the TRS chief.
“Has KCR even given any appointment to the opposition party leaders? Forget the opposition, has he even given time to see his own party MLAs and ministers? How many times Eatala had to return from Pragati Bhavan without getting an opportunity to meet KCR? How can he expect that the PM and other Central ministers give him time as and when he want?” a BJP leader asked.