HYDERABAD: Will Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 5 when the latter is expected to participate in a ceremony to unveil the Statue of Equality, marking the 1,000th birth anniversary of Ramanujacharya, at Chinna Jeeyar Swami Ashram in Muchintal, Shamshabad.
The question arises as the TRS supremo, who took an anti-BJP stance in the recent past, did not attend two meetings convened by Modi. Rao skipped the two recent meetings the Prime Minister held with the Chief Ministers.Though Health Minister T Harish Rao attended one of those, he skipped, reportedly on the directions of Chief Minister, the pre-Budget meeting conducted by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
In the backdrop of the soured relations between the TRS and BJP parties, especially the government-to-government relations, there is a discussion in political circles on whether or not Rao will share the dais with Modi. In case Rao attends the ceremony, due to his close association with Jeeyar Swamy, the question is whether or not he will greet the Prime Minister. It may be recalled here that Rao personally invited Modi to participate in the inauguration of renovated Yadadri temple. He also interacted with the Prime Minister in September, 2021.
Later, the paddy procurement issue cropped up. After that, the TRS launched a vitriolic attack on the BJP and criticised the policies of Modi government tooth and nail. In this context, it also remains to be seen whether or not Modi would come to the State in March to participate in the inauguration of Yadadri temple.
Meanwhile, Rao also revived his efforts to unite all the anti-BJP forces in the country. Even top leaders of Left parties too called on Rao recently. But, the CPM State leaders, who recognised the anti-BJP stand of Rao, said that the latter should convince the people that he was dead against the Modi government.
“You are fighting against Modi government and talked about the need of a third front in the country. But your fight against the BJP should be in a way that the people should believe it,” CPM State secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram said. It remains to be seen if the Left parties would believe Rao is dead against the BJP if the TRS chief shares the dais with Modi on February 5.