BRS unlikely to attend June 23 opposition party meeting
The Telangana assembly polls will take place in December along with those in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.
The K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is unlikely to attend the meeting of opposition parties on June 23 in Patna, a senior party leader said, claiming that the party will continue with its equidistance from both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress -- a stance likely prompted by coming assembly elections in the state where the Congress and the BJP will both take on the regional party.
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A senior party leader aware of the development said K Chandrasekhar Rao has clearly spelt out to Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) leader, Nitish Kumar, who is trying to put together a common opposition front, his party’s unwillingness to be part of an alliance that includes the Congress, which the party sees at is main rival in Telangana.
The Navneen Patnaik led Biju Janata Dal and BRS are the two major political parties which are unlikely to attend the meeting, a senior JD (U) leader confirmed.
According to the BRS leader cited above, an internal assessment shows that the Congress is ahead of the BJP in Telangana . “We don’t take our rivals lightly. The Congress may have got some boost after its victory in Karnataka but it will flounder in Telangana.”
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The Telangana assembly polls will take place in December along with those in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.
On Tuesday, Rao warned that people should not trust the Congress, which could undo the good work done by the Telangana government for various sections of the society. Analysts say that it is after months that Rao has directly attacked the Congress.
Claiming that the Congress would abolish ‘Dharani’, the -land records management portal (if they come to power), KCR accused the party of encouraging middlemen. “BRS government means farmers’ kingdom. Congress is proclaiming that it would abolish the ‘Dharani’ portal. It is nothing but encouraging middlemen. Do we want it?” he asked the public at a rally in Nagarkurnool.
A second senior BRS leader explained that becoming part of the opposition alliance would be contrary to the party’s expansion in states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
“We have already enrolled 2.5 lakh members in Maharashtra. Several prominent leaders such as former Odisha chief minister Giridhar Gamang have joined the party in Odisha. Shortly, we will open our party office in Bhopal, and later in other Hindi speaking states.”
However, the two BRS leaders said that they will continue to give “issue-based” support to the opposition parties and pointed to the party’s boycott of the inauguration of the Parliament’s new building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 29.
The BRS has also supported Arvind Kejriwal who has asked opposition parties to ensure the ordinance issued by the Central government on curbing Delhi government powers related to services, isn’t passed in the Rajya Sabha when the time comes for the executive order to be legislated. The BJP lacks majority in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress has not responded to Kejriwal’s call so far.
A senior BRS leader in Hyderabad said though no official decision was taken by the party in this regard, KCR may not attend the meeting in which Congress is a part.
(With inputs from HTC Hyderabad)