'On Tantrik's advice...': Sitharaman slams KCR's move to rechristen TRS as BRS

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that KCR deliberately changed his party's name to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) "on the advice of Tantriks."

Updated on: Oct 8, 2022, 21:49:03 IST

By HT News Desk | Edited by Kunal Gaurav

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Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday accused Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao of believing in superstitions after the latter rechristened his party, earlier Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), as Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS). Speaking to news agency ANI, Sitharaman said that the chief minister stopped going to the Secretariat on the “advice of Tantriks” and has now changed his party name to BRS by believing in ‘tantra’ and 'numerology'.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (PTI)

The minister also claimed that Rao, often referred as KCR, did not induct women into his cabinet for many years because of such superstitions.

“chief minister KCR, on the advice of Tantriks and numerologists, stopped going to the Secretariat, and did not even induct women for many years in his cabinet. Now has changed the party's name to BRS on Tantrik's advice,” ANI quoted Sitharaman as saying.

"After failing and betraying the people of Telangana and the Telugu language, he has now launched BRS as a national party. The new party is doomed to fail," she added.

This is not the first time BJP has accused KCR of following advice of Tantriks. Addressing a rally in Secunderabad in July this year, Union home minister Amit Shah alleged that KCR stopped going to Secretariat after a sorcerer warned him about so-called bad omen about the building.

Media reports in the past have claimed that KCR has been averse to working from Secretariat on the advice of Vastu experts.

On Wednesday, a resolution was passed at TRS's general body meeting to changed the party's name to BRS, marking KCR's first step toward becoming a national party to counter the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. "Dear India he is coming", and "KCR is on the way", were among the slogans prominently displayed in banners across Hyderabad after KCR announced the name change. JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy also attended the launch event at the TRS headquarters.

(With ANI inputs)

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