HYDERABAD/SANGAREDDY: The way Irrigation minister T Harish Rao chose to undertake two-day Delhi visit on Tuesday and Wednesday by keeping himself away from Hyderabad when IT minister KT Rama Rao was actively taking part in the prestigious Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES)-2017 has set tongues wagging in political circles. The buzz in political circles is that as KTR is already being projected as the heir-apparent to the CM and TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao and Harish Rao is trying to keep a low profile for now.
On Wednesday, he kept himself busy by meeting Union Environment minister Harsh Vardhan and Central Water Commission (CWC) officials in the national capital. During his meeting with Harsh Vardhan, Harish Rao thanked the latter for giving environmental clearances for the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project as requested by the State government.
Congress sees Harish Rao’s absence from Metro Rail inauguration and GES as an indication that the chasm between Harish and KTR is widening. “As KCR is using Metro Rail and GES to further promote his son, an unhappy Harish seems to have preferred to stay away from the two key events. The timing of his Delhi visit strengthens this belief,” Congress veteran V Hanumantha Rao commented while addressing media here.
Joining chorus with him, TPCC chief official spokesperson Dasoju Sravan said, “The GES appears to be not aimed at attracting investments to the State. We feel that the event’s main focus is on further boosting the image of KTR. Interestingly, when women are representing their respective countries in the GES, Telangana government is projecting KTR as its sole representative.”
Siddipet TRS workers surprised
WhatsApp messages are being circulated among TRS workers in Siddipet Assembly constituency, represented by Harish Rao, expressing surprise at his absence from the Metro Rail launch. “Where is our minister Harish? Why has he gone to Delhi at a time when Hyderabad is holding prestigious events like GES?” are the questions being circulated among various WhatsApp groups. The issue has also become a matter of discussion in areas that fall under erstwhile united Medak district.
TRS leaders belonging to Siddipet are not able to digest that Harish was not there at Begumpet airport on Tuesday when CM K Chandrasekhar Rao and other TRS leaders received PM Narendra Modi. In fact, Harish Rao is known as trouble shooter for the party. He played a vital role in every programme organised by the party from the time of relaunch of the Telangana movement in 2001. TRS cadre therefore wonder why Harish was not present at the two key events.
The issue is widely being discussed on social media and WhatsApp. Some TRS leaders posted that Harish Rao had gone to Delhi for getting sanctions to irrigation projects while some other party leaders criticised those posts. Questioning the Facebook posts, they wanted to know what was the need for Harish to go to Delhi when the Prime Minister was in Hyderabad.