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.
Crime
Three Khalistani terrorists who bombed Punjab Police posts killed in encounter in UP
Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 23: Three criminals accused of hurling a grenade at police posts in Punjab’s Gurdaspur were killed in an encounter with police in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit early Monday morning, a senior police officer said.
Punjab Police DGP Gaurav Yadav, while sharing details on social media platform X, stated, “In a major breakthrough against a Pak-sponsored Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terror module, a joint operation by UP Police and Punjab Police led to an encounter with three module members who fired at the police party. This terror module is involved in grenade attacks at police establishments in border areas of Punjab.”
He said that the three suspects were involved in the grenade attack on a police post in Gurdaspur.
Pilibhit Superintendent of Police (SP) Avinash Pandey reported that the gunfight occurred in the Puranpur police station area between the suspected Khalistani terrorists and a joint team of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh Police.
The injured suspects, identified as Gurvinder Singh, Virendra Singh, and Jasanpreet Singh, sustained injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment.
Authorities recovered two AK-series rifles, two Glock pistols, and a large quantity of ammunition from the scene.
“Early this morning, a team from Punjab Police informed Puranpur police station that suspects in a grenade attack on a police post by alleged Khalistani terrorists might be hiding in the area,” SP Pandey said.
Upon receiving this information, police teams immediately launched a blockade and searched the area. They later received a tip-off about three suspicious young men on a motorcycle, riding dangerously and carrying potentially harmful items, heading toward Pilibhit.
“Both Punjab Police and Puranpur police station staff chased the suspects. Meanwhile, Gajrola and Madhav Thanda police stations were alerted about possible escape routes. At a canal track near an under-construction bridge, the suspects opened fire when challenged by the police. In the retaliatory firing, all three were injured and subsequently sent to CSC Puranpur for treatment,” Pandey said.
However, they later succumbed to the injuries.
Recently, multiple explosions targeted police posts in Gurdaspur. On Thursday, a grenade was hurled at the closed Bakshiwal police post.
A day later, another explosion occurred at the closed Wadala Bangar police post, which had also recently shut down due to staff shortages.
Residents in nearby areas reported being shaken by the blasts. At Wadala Bangar, frightened locals emerged from their homes at night only to discover the sound originated from the police station. Following the explosion, police vehicles patrolled the area throughout the night, with sirens blaring.
Entertainment
‘Yeh Kaisa Insaan Hai’: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Slams ‘Pushpa 2’ Star Allu Arjun For Stampede During Screening
Hyderabad: Despite police permission being denied, top Telugu actor Allu Arjun attended the theatre where ‘Pushpa-2’ was screened on December 4, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy charged on Saturday.
Even after the death of a woman in a stampede, the actor did not leave the cinema hall, prompting the police to force him out, CM alleged.
Responding to the issue after AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi raised it in the Assembly, Reddy, referring to videos in circulation, found fault with Allu Arjun for holding a roadshow and waving to the crowds in spite of the heavy crowd.
Reddy further said the theatre management gave a letter to the police on December 2 seeking security for the visit of top actors and others on December 4. However, the police rejected the application, citing difficulties in crowd management.
Before entering the theatre and exiting, the actor stood through the sunroof of his car and waved to the crowds leading to thousands of fans jostling to get a glimpse of him, he said.
He slammed film personalities for making a beeline for Allu Arjun’s residence to meet him after his arrest but not showing empathy to visit the boy who is undergoing treatment in hospital after suffering injuries in the incident.
“I appeal to the top film personalities that they should not be inhuman,” he said.
He also said there won’t be any special privileges when untoward incidents like death in a stampede happen and said the government would not spare those who troubled common people.
A 35-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old son was hospitalised on December 4 during a stampede-like situation at the Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad when thousands of fans jostled to have a glimpse of the actor at the premiere of the blockbuster ‘Pushpa 2,’.
Following the incident, the city police registered a case against Allu Arjun, his security team, and the theatre management under different sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chikkadpally police station based on the complaint lodged by the deceased woman’s family.
Allu Arjun was arrested by the city police in connection with the death of the woman on December 13. The Telangana High Court granted him a four-week interim bail on the same day and he was released from the prison here on December 14 morning.
National News
Conscience itself will deliver justice: Shivakumar on obscene remark row
Bengaluru, Dec 21: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar said on Saturday that conscience itself will deliver justice in the derogatory remark case against BJP MLC C. T. Ravi.
The Deputy Chief Minister’s remark came close on the heels of the release of Ravi, who was arrested over alleged derogatory remark against Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar.
On Ravi’s allegations that police harassed him throughout the night, Shivakumar told reporters: “In this matter, you and the police are involved. Whether it’s at his house or his party, I am the cause of everything.”
“Let the BJP accept that disrespecting women and using abusive language is their culture. We will not object,” said Shivakumar.
“C.T. Ravi has not only spoken disrespectfully about Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar but also about CM Siddaramaiah. In the Assembly, he used the term ‘Nitya Sumangali’ (a Kannada term used to demean a woman). BJP leaders must introspect whether Ravi’s remark was right or wrong,” he claimed.
“Chikkamagaluru (native place of Ravi) is known for its cultured people. Unfortunately, someone like him hails from there,” he added.
“If any leader from our party had spoken like this, I would have condemned it. However, BJP leaders are standing in defence of their leader,” he claimed.
State Home Minister G. Parameshwara said, “The matter is before the court. I won’t issue any statements as the matter is sub-judice. It is not appropriate to discuss the issue.”
“The police claim that they have initiated steps lawfully. The matter is before the court and they will decide what is right and what is wrong. I have been told that while obtaining information on various circumstances, the judgment has come without asking the version of police. Now, we can’t comment or criticise the decision,” Parameshwara stated.
When asked about the Legislative Council Chairperson Basavaraj Horatti stating that there are no records of Ravi making derogatory remark, Minister Parameshwara said that he does not know anything.
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