HYDERABAD: Even as the Telangana BJP prepares for a massive public meeting to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Ramagundam on November 12, the question doing the rounds in TRS circles is whether Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would receive the head of government as per protocol or avoid doing so by deputing a senior minister to do the honours. Modi will be addressing the public meeting after dedicating the renovated fertiliser plant to the nation.
The last time the Prime Minister visited the State, it was in February to unveil the Statue of Equality at Muchintal on the outskirts of Hyderabad. At that time, the TRS could easily downplay KCR not receiving the Prime Minister saying that following protocol was not mandatory since it was a private programme.
However, Modi’s November 12 visit to Telangana is an official event and if the protocol were to be followed, the Chief Minister has to receive the Prime Minister. If for some reason this is not possible, the State government should issue a GO appointing a minister to do the honours.
If the TRS grapevine is to be believed, KCR is quite unlikely to receive Modi upon the latter’s arrival to the State on November 12. When asked, senior government officials say that there is no clarity at this point of time on whether the Chief Minister will welcome the Prime Minister. A senior minister, on condition of anonymity, said that the district minister and the local MP and MLA are likely to participate in the PM’s programme.
It may be mentioned here that on Sunday, the Chief Minister launched a diatribe against the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing them of trying to destabilise his government. He also made public video clips of the Moinabad farmhouse episode in which three persons, allegedly on behalf of the BJP, tried to lure four TRS MLAs.
In this situation, it appears highly unlikely that KCR will receive Modi or even attend the Ramagundam programme, the TRS grapevine says. Meanwhile, CPI State secretary Kunamneni Sambashiva Rao said that his party will stage a protest during Modi’s visit to Telangana. Also, the Telangana Universities Students JAC has announced that its activists would stage protests during Modi’s programme against the failure of Governor Tamilisai Sounderarajan to approve the Common Recruitment Board Bill pending with her.
Even the Singareni Employees JAC plans to protest against the Centre’s decision to auction off coal blocks of the company. Likewise, the MRPS is demanding that the PM approve the SC Categorisation Bill passed by the Telangana Assembly or face protest.
No clarity, say govt officials
Senior government officials say that there is no clarity at this point of time on whether the Chief Minister will welcome the Prime Minister. They also said they have not received any invitation for the programme. A senior minister said that the district minister and the local MP and MLA are likely to participate in the PM’s programme