KCR Gatecrashing Other CMs' Houses: Congress

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Treasurer Gudur Narayana Reddy on Wednesday alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was intruding into the houses of other Chief Ministers as an uninvited guest to talk about his Federal Front proposal.

Reddy said that KCR's tour to Odisha and West Bengal to meet Chief Ministers Naveen Patnaik and Mamata Banerjee was nothing short of intrusion. He said that there was no formal written invitation or a media statement by any of the two CMs inviting KCR for a meeting. Landing up then was tantamount to compromising the pride of Telangana people with those states, he said.

"Neither Naveen Patnaik nor Mamata Banerjee invited KCR to their houses. KCR gatecrashed their houses and himself briefed the media later. While Patnaik was non-committal on KCR's proposed Federal Front, Mamata Banerjee did not even speak to the media," he said.

The Congress leader said KCR's tour to Bhubaneshwar and Kolkata only caused embarrassment to Naveen Patnaik and Mamata Banerjee. "Since they could not stop a Chief Minister from entering their houses, they extended a half-hearted welcome and then remained silent. But unlike KCR, both Patnaik and Banerjee are politically mature and committed to secularism, and will not fall in the trap of the Federal Front which is sponsored by Prime Minister Narender Modi," he said.

He added that KCR's tour to different states to pursue his political ambitions also showed his lack of commitment towards Telangana and its people. "The results of the Assembly elections were declared on December 11, and even after 15 days the MLA-elects are yet to be administered the oath of office and secrecy. The cabinet has not been formed and the Chief Minister has not signed a single file of public importance. While the rest of Telangana is waiting for the life to move on after the elections, KCR is busy doing religious and political tourism along with his family members," he alleged.

The Congress leader also asked KCR to explain his definition of "qualitative change in politics". "KCR never respected the Constitution of India during his entire tenure as CM. He did not implement the laws like RTI, RTE or Land Acquisition Act, and tried to replace or amend every Central Act with a state law to suit his requirement. He almost legalized horse trading by buying out MLAs, MLCs and other elected representatives of the opposition parties. He showed utter disrespect to the courts by not implementing their orders. He enslaved the institutions of legislature and executive, and neglected the judiciary. He forced media houses to either praise him or shut their businesses. He suppressed each and every voice of dissent against his wrong policies. He indulged in large scale irregularities to win the elections. Does he want to replicate a similar model at the national level? Is he seeking the help of other parties to smother democracy across the country?" he asked.

Reddy advised KCR to focus on the development of Telangana instead of wasting time on self-promotion. He said that instead of exploring means to divert the people's attention from his failures, KCR should concentrate on doing something good for the society at least in his second term.