E-Paper
'Not only insulted individual..': Smriti Irani jabs KCR in PM-at-airport row
This is the third time in six months Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has not followed protocol in receiving the prime minister on an official visit to the state.
Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday lashed out at Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao as he was not present at Hyderabad airport to greet prime minister Narendra Modi, who is in the city to attend the Bharatiya Janata Party's National Executive meeting. Addressing a press conference, Irani declared the chief minister, also called KCR, had insulted both an individual and an institution.
"He (Telangana CM) jeopardised the integrity of the Constitution. Politics may be a circus for K Chandrashekar Rao's party, but for BJP workers, it is a medium for social emancipation and nation-building," the minister said.
This is the third time in six months KCR has not followed protocol in receiving the prime minister on an official visit to the state.
PM Modi, who arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday to attend the BJP's two-day national executive meeting, was instead received by minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav and other leaders of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
KCR's decision to not receive the PM has triggered a war between the TRS and the BJP.
Before Smriti Irani, BJP MLC N Ramchander Rao said, "If the prime minister or president arrives at the airport, the chief minister of that state should receive them, this is a protocol. Breaking this convention is not right, we should respect the PM... he is the PM of the country, not only the BJP. He (Telangana CM ) is scared to face the PM."
On the other hand, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, who met the PM, questioned why it had to be the chief minister each time. "As per protocol, a state representative is supposed to go and give an invitation. So, I am going there to receive him as a minister," Yadav said.
