KCR to again share stage with another set of Opposition leaders

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is bringing together a set of regional satraps to share the stage with him in Hyderabad next month, on his birthday.

This comes after the BRS national foray launch rally in Khammam last week, attended by the top leaders of the AAP, SP, and Left parties.

The occasion will be the inauguration of the grand state secretariat on February 17, to be followed by a large public meeting.

Read | KCR’s Khammam rally leaves a lot to be desired

The second rally in quick succession is seen as a continuation of the national role-aspiring BRS supremo’s efforts to display his anti-BJP and anti-Congress stance in the run-up to the general elections next year. The BRS faces a fight with both the BJP and Congress in the Telangana Assembly polls later this year.

His Tamil Nadu counterpart and DMK president M K Stalin, Jharkhand counterpart and JMM chief Hemant Soren, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, JD(U) national president Lalan Singh (as representative of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar) are expected to be present when the CM unveils the complex for state administration.

“All these chief guests will also attend the Secunderabad public meeting,” said State Roads and Buildings Minister Vemula Prashant Reddy.

Dr Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar is also invited.

The event will be the second time in a month that KCR showcases both his state administration and public gathering capabilities to his counterparts from other parts of the country.

Also read | Few takers for K Chandrashekar Rao's national ambition

At the Khammam rally, chief ministers from Delhi, Punjab, and Kerala Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann, Pinarayi Vijayan, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, and CPI general secretary D Raja were present.

CM’s Vedic chants

The Vaastu-compliant complex will be inaugurated at the auspicious muhurtam between 11.30 am and 12.30 pm on February 17. Vaastu puja, Chandi Yagam, Sudarshana Yagam and other rituals will be performed.

The new secretariat construction began after the existing buildings were razed to the ground in mid-2020. The Opposition parties decried “the over Rs 500 crore project as an excessive move just to satisfy KCR’s Vaastu craze,” especially when people in Telangana were at the time in the grip of the pandemic.