A day after Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao avoided meeting visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in turn took potshots at the ruling TRS in Hyderabad, a Congress leader on Friday accused both of prioritising politics over people’s welfare. Mohammed Ali Shabbir, a former minister, said Modi and KCR were skirting their responsibilities. “PM Modi restricted his visit to Hyderabad on May 26 to politics and by skipping the PM’s visit the CM gave prominence to his political ambitions. Both PM Modi and CM KCR gave no importance to the needs and aspirations of the people of Telangana. The CM did not utilise the opportunity to submit a memorandum to the prime minister on the needs of Telangana and by not inquiring about the Telangana people and their welfare, PM Modi gave a wrong message that the BJP’s growth was more important to him than the state’s welfare,” Shabbir said. Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special price The former leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council said that by avoiding a meeting with Modi, KCR failed to hold the prime minister accountable for “denying funds, projects and schemes” to the state. “Both Modi and KCR have set a bad precedent and this approach will have a long-lasting negative impact on federalism,” he said. Shabbir said that Modi had addressed the meeting as a BJP leader and not as the prime minister. “Is he the prime minister of the BJP or the prime minister of entire India, including Telangana?” he asked. He said that the prime minister should have conducted a review meeting to get first-hand information on the state’s affairs. KCR should have organised this meeting to present the pending issues with the Centre and seek a solution, he added. “There was no political will either from PM Modi or CM KCR to discuss Telangana’s issues. While Modi wanted to promote the BJP in Telangana, KCR went to Bengaluru to pursue his political ambitions. As the prime minister, Modi should have realised that a discussion on Telangana’s affairs was more important than addressing BJP workers. Similarly, KCR must have realised that his meeting with the current prime minister was more important than meeting a former PM," he said, referring to the chief minister's meeting with Janata Dal (S) leader HD Deve Gowda. Shabbir said KCR’s avoiding a meeting with Modi during his visit to Hyderabad was unfortunate for the people of the state. “Modi and KCR are only interested in politics and not people’s welfare. Both of them have been cheating the people with fake promises and false claims for the past eight years. They are equally responsible for rising unemployment and inflation. By indulging in a blame game, they are trying to distract people’s attention from the real issues,” he alleged. The Congress leader said that KCR had lost a big opportunity to directly question Modi on the non-procurement of paddy. Shabbir said KCR could have raised the Centre’s “failure” to sanction an Indian Institute of Management, Indian Institute Technology and other central institutions for the southern state. He could have asked Modi why the Information Technology Investment Region, which was sanctioned for Hyderabad by the Congress-led UPA government to create 50 lakh jobs, was cancelled. By not having a one-on-one meeting with Modi, KCR lost an opportunity to question him on why no irrigation project in the state was accorded national status, he said.
