National News
KCR eyes a national role, pursues goal of ‘BJP-mukt Bharat’

While the BJP is trying to corner him on his home turf, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is looking at a national role in what is seen as a counter-attack.
Though under pressure at home due to a likely strong anti-incumbency after two terms in power and aggressive tactics being adopted by the BJP, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief is going ballistic against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, is mincing no words in attacking Modi and the BJP over what he called their divisive politics, wrong policies and deliberate attempts to destroy the spirit of federalism.
In what is seen as a repeat of Modi’s old slogan of ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’, KCR has now come out with the slogan ‘BJP-mukt Bharat’.
While KCR has been planning a national foray since 2018, it is only during the recent months that he has stepped up his efforts.
In a letter to Prime Minister Modi last month, KCR alleged that because of lack of planning and lack of cooperative federalism, the county is passing through a most difficult phase with unprecedented problems of falling rupee values, high inflation, skyrocketing prices and increasing unemployment coupled with low economic growth.
The TRS leader has also slammed the Centre for not treating states as equal partners in collective effort to make India a strong and developed country. By raising the issues like cooperative federalism, he is trying to unite the states.
KCR also lashed out at the Centre for treating borrowings of state PSUs for their capital needs as state government borrowings. He said this has put brakes on the progress of Telangana and many other states.
A bitter critic of both BJP and Congress for failing to fulfil the aspirations of the people even after 75 years of Independence, KCR has been talking of an alternative to bring a qualitative change in the national polity and transform India into a prosperous nation to its full potential.
KCR, who has good oratory skills not just in Telugu and English but also in Hindi, is trying to project himself as a pan-India leader who can take on Modi.
On many occasions, he ridiculed the threat of some BJP leaders to use agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him. He dared them to use the Central agencies against him saying he is not the one to be cowed down.
Though KCR has been travelling to different parts of the country and holding consultations with leaders of various parties, it is still not clear whether he plans to forge an alliance of various parties or float a national political party.
“He is making an effort (for a national foray) but it’s too early to comment,” said political observer professor K. Nageshwar, adding, “There is no colour or shape yet.”
KCR is trying to test waters with his visits to different parts of the country. He visited Punjab, Bihar and Jharkhand to distribute assistance to families of soldiers martyred in clashes with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley and also to the next of kin of farmers killed during the protest against the three farm laws of the Centre.
Agriculture and the problems faced by farmers is key on KCR’s national agenda and he is projecting the success achieved by Telangana in transformation of agriculture by executing the irrigation project Kaleshwaram, billed as the world’s largest lift irrigation project, 24-hour free electricity to farmers and investment support to farmers at the rate of Rs 10,000 per acre per year.
In what is seen as an aggressive push of this agenda, KCR has promised that if a non-BJP government comes to power at the Centre, free electricity can be supplied to farmers across the country.
He also recently hosted a meeting of farmer leaders of 26 states. The two-day meet proposed a joint forum of farmers at the national level to replicate Telangana’s success in agriculture.
The deliberations indicate that KCR has finally taken the initiative to unite farmers’ organisations from across the country to work on the alternate national agenda.
With leaders of farmers’ unions unanimously adopting a resolution urging KCR to lead a nationwide campaign to unite farmers for the struggle, the TRS leader appears set to don a national role.
The farm leaders, who were impressed with the initiatives taken by KCR’s government, requested him to lead a nationwide campaign to unite farmers right from the village level.
He called for a debate at the national level on how Telangana, a state created only eight years ago, succeeded in ensuring 24-hour round the clock electricity supply to all sectors, free and uninterrupted supply to farmers and drinking water to every household.
KCR has been trying to build a narrative around his national aspirations. He is highlighting the failures of the Modi government during last eight years and the achievements of the TRS government during the same period.
Projecting the ‘successful’ Telangana model, he is talking of replicating it.
“Why can’t the country achieve what the youngest state has achieved in a short span of time,” he asks.
KCR claimed that Telangana’s achievements came despite the discrimination it faced at the hands of the Centre.
He cites the restrictions being imposed on the state’s borrowing limit and the Centre not sanctioning even a single new project for Telangana in eight years.
KCR’s son K.T. Rama Rao, who is a key Cabinet minister and also the working president of TRS, often points at Telangana’s significant contribution to the national economy and what the state is getting in return.
“For every rupee that Telangana contributes to the nation, we only get back 46 paisa,” said Rama Rao. He pointed out that Telangana gave Rs 3.65 lakh crore in form of taxes to the Centre since 2014 but the Centre gave back only Rs 1.68 lakh crore.
KTR, as the young leader is popularly known, claims that the KCR government has outperformed the Modi government by many miles. He cited a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report of October 2021, which says that Telangana, which accounts for 2.5 per cent of Indian population, is contributing 5 per cent of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The TRS leader went on to say that if only the BJP states had performed on par with Telangana, India would have been a $4.6 trillion economy.
Political analyst Palvai Raghvanedra Reddy is of the view that KCR is playing a much broader national card with the hope that his Telangana model of governance will stop Modi and his model of governance.
“However, voters across Telangana, would look at what is being delivered to them from this government, and might not compare it with Modi,” he said.
National News
Maharashtra: Major scam in twin tunnel and elevated road projects, allege Shiv Sena-UBT and Congress

Mumbai, May 31: The opposition Shiv Sena-UBT and Congress in Maharashtra have claimed that there is a major scam in the Thane-Godbunder-Bhayander twin tunnel and elevated road projects estimated together at Rs 14,000 crore.
“Will Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde be removed from the government and an investigation conducted into this scam?” SS-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said at a press conference while criticising the state government after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) told the Supreme Court during a hearing on a petition filed by the infrastructure major L&T that both the tenders would be scrapped, and a fresh tender process would be initiated only to safeguard larger public interest.
“I congratulate the court… I also congratulate the contractor L&T. No political interference is needed. I had brought this news to the fore last year also,” Aaditya Thackeray said on Saturday.
“The cost of the twin projects was expected to be Rs 14,000 crore and, on the other hand, the contract process was to be completed in 20 days. There is a short tender notice for landslides, broken walls. But how can there be a short notice for this big project? When they (L&T) went to court, MMRDA said that they are giving a contract period of 60 days instead of 20 days,” he claimed.
“It all started for a favourite contractor. At that time, I didn’t think it would be such a big scam. There was a settlement against the government for a contract. But today’s (court) case has given me confidence that ‘Satyamev Jayate’ will prevail. It was clear that this was a scam. Just because the contract was canceled later on the orders of the court doesn’t mean it wasn’t a scam.
“The ED and IT-D are being pushed aside. I ask the Chief Minister – are you going to investigate the ‘corrupt Nath’ Shinde? He must have taken bribes, given threats. Fadnavis says we need clean governance. Shinde holds the urban development department… he gives orders to commit scams. Will you investigate him? Are you going to expel him?” Aaditya Thackeray questioned.
He claimed that Fadnavis does not need Shinde as Ajit Pawar is with him. “So will the probe be conducted by keeping aside Shinde?” he wondered.
On the other hand, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshwardhan Sapkal claimed that there was corruption of Rs 3,000 crore in the Thane-Godbunder-Bhayander twin tunnel and elevated road projects. He also accused CM Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde of taking bribes in these projects.
“The matter does not end with the cancellation of the tender by MMRDA as the issue is about corruption. Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde have created a corridor of corruption in the state and there is a circle of state undertakings including MMRDA, MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority), CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation) and SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) for this purpose. This circle of corruption has been quite active since Eknath Shinde became the Chief Minister. For this, favourite officers are appointed and through this, the favourite contractor scheme is implemented,” alleged Sapkal.
National News
Re-tendering of Ghodbunder-Bhayandar projects: Voluntary move despite legal clearance, says MMRDA

Mumbai, May 31: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Saturday strongly defended its decision to scrap tenders for the Thane-Ghodbunder-Bhayandar twin tunnel and elevated road projects, valued at around Rs 14,000 crore.
The authority emphasized that the move was voluntary and aimed at upholding transparency, despite having received legal vindication from the courts.
In a submission before the Supreme Court on Friday, MMRDA said that it would scrap both tenders and initiate a fresh bidding process in alignment with its institutional commitment to transparency and to safeguard the larger public interest.
“The decision to re-tender the Ghodbunder-Bhayandar infrastructure projects underscores MMRDA’s commitment to public value, ethical governance, and transparency,” the authority said in a statement.
“This voluntary step comes despite the Supreme Court declining to interfere with the Bombay High Court’s rulings, which had upheld the legality and procedural soundness of the tender process for the Gaimukh-Bhayandar project,” it added.
MMRDA also said it was actively considering a downward revision of the project’s base cost by around Rs 3,000 crore, based on price quotations revealed during court proceedings, to ensure optimal utilization of public funds.
Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) had twice challenged the tendering process in the Bombay High Court, which on both occasions upheld MMRDA’s procedures, affirming that all rules, technical criteria, and eligibility norms had been followed.
In its Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court, L&T had sought both interim and final reliefs, including a stay on the High Court’s order, a freeze on the opening of financial bids, a bar on disclosure of submitted bids, and a halt on issuing any Letter of Award.
However, the apex court declined to grant any of these interim requests.
“The Court did not stay the High Court’s order, nor did it restrain MMRDA from opening financial bids, disclosing them, or issuing Letters of Award,” the MMRDA statement said.
“During final hearings, Chief Justice B.R. Gavai expressly refused to interfere with the Bombay High Court’s rulings, thus reinforcing the legality of MMRDA’s tendering process.”
According to MMRDA, L&T was disqualified for failing to meet a key eligibility condition that required bidders to declare that no bridge or barrage constructed by them had collapsed within two years of completion.
Based on L&T’s own disclosure, the company was rendered ineligible, and its financial bid was never opened.
“MMRDA’s approach in this matter goes beyond a legal win. It reflects leadership — where legal compliance is a baseline, and ethical decision-making in public interest is the standard,” the statement said.
Crime
Delhi Police bust interstate auto theft syndicate, recover eight high end cars

New Delhi, May 30: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted an interstate syndicate involved in the theft and resale of high-end vehicles, a statement said on Friday.
The gang used a sophisticated modus operandi to sell stolen cars through online platforms by forging documents, opening bank accounts with fake identities, and tampering with engine and chassis numbers.
In a series of coordinated operations, the police arrested a key member of the gang and recovered eight luxury vehicles.
According to Delhi Police, the breakthrough came with the arrest of Rakesh Patel alias Pappu (38), a core operative of the syndicate, near Sahibabad Railway Station in Ghaziabad on April 21, 2025.
Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended him while he was attempting to sell a stolen Maruti Wagon-R via an online platform.
Patel, a resident of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad (UP), and originally from Mohiuddin Nagar, Samastipur (Bihar), played a central role in managing theft operations and delivering stolen vehicles across states.
His associates arranged vehicles, counterfeit documents, and fake number plates.
The gang’s method was notably elaborate. After stealing a car, they searched online car-selling portals for vehicles of the same make, model, and colour.
Using open-source information, they identified details of genuine owners and forged documents in the owner’s name — featuring the photograph of one of the accused. They also opened bank accounts using these fake identities.
To avoid detection, the syndicate would tamper with the stolen car’s engine and chassis numbers to match those of the legitimate vehicle. Fake Registration Certificates (RCs) were then prepared, making the stolen car appear genuine. Once the vehicle was thus ‘cloned,’ it was listed for sale on online platforms.
The syndicate targeted high-demand vehicles, often choosing cars parked in low-surveillance or roadside areas. The police noted the gang’s use of advanced technological tools to support their operations.
A team led by Inspector Arun Sindhu of the Crime Branch spearheaded the investigation, which led to the arrest and recovery of the stolen vehicles.
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