Naidu, KCR bury hatchet and shake hands

The tarmac at the Begumpet airport here has successfully accomplished what an Iftar party at the Raj Bhavan failed to do: Breaking the ice between Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

The one-time colleagues-turned foes set aside their differences and shook hands, giving a rare photo opportunity to the shutterbugs. 

They were at the airport to receive President Pranab Mukherjee, who was here to attend the convocation at the Shamirpet-based NALSAR Law university on Saturday.

In fact, the opportunity for the chief ministers to share a common dais had come on July 23 at the Iftar party hosted by common Governor E S L Narasimhan. While Naidu attended the party, KCR sent his home minister instead. 

The relationship between the two has been strained since the bifurcation of the state. While KCR hasn’t invited Naidu for his swearing in, he refused to attend Naidu’s swearing in at Guntur.

But at the Begumpet airport, they shook hands. Naidu patted KCR’s back with a rather elder brotherly touch and KCR responded with a big smile. Naidu then proceeded towards the Cabinet colleagues of KCR and spoke to them.

Meanwhile, the Governor arrived and they both approached him and accompanied him to the shamiana near the tarmac. The governor and the chief ministers shared a few moments of casual talk while others savoured the rare moment.