India don't need political front with sole agenda of removing BJP, says Rao

|HT|

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday said India does not need a political front or realignments with the sole agenda of removing the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) from power at the Centre. He called for an alternative people’s agenda for the country’s progress and development. Rao’s comments came even as he has held a series of meetings as part of efforts to forge an alliance against the BJP for the 2024 national polls. He met his Jharkhand counterpart, Hemant Soren, in March as well as Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar separately in Mumbai on February 20.

Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and the NCP made it clear they will not join an Opposition front without Congress, which is a part of their government in Maharashtra. The Congress is also a part of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led government in Jharkhand.

After his meetings in Mumbai, KCR vowed to fight against “the divisive, communal forces” and play a role in national politics to bring about a change in the country’s governance. On Wednesday, Rao maintained they do not require a political agenda, but an alternative people’s agenda that can lead the country to the path of progress and development. “Any new experiment should be based on this philosophy,” he said in his address on the 21st foundation day of his Telangana Rashtra Samithi.

He said Communist leaders sought his help in dislodging the ruling BJP at the Centre. “Some other parties also raised the issue of pulling down the BJP from power. I told them we are not ready to accept this... The focus is not on bringing down [Narendra] Modi and making some Tom, Dick, and Harry the next Prime Minister,” said Rao, who is popularly known as KCR.

KCR said he has been getting suggestions for floating Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi. “The country definitely needs an alternative agenda that can show the country a new direction and right path. We should find ways to make it a reality. If the new proposal, new agenda, and a new philosophy emerge on this platform from Hyderabad and spreads to the entire country, it will be a matter of pride for us.” KCR said the country requires new agricultural, economic, and industrial policies. “For that, we need the right forum. We should grow beyond petty and narrow politics. We need a progressive path for the country and only then, we can visualise a strong nation.”

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)