"Not Mad Enough" To Join NDA: KTR Hits Back At PM Modi's Jibe On KCR

Shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao sought an alliance with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and that he had rejected the proposal, State Minister K T Rama Rao swiftly responded, emphasizing that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) had no intentions of considering such an alliance, remarking that they were "not mad enough" to make such a decision.

K T Rama Rao, who holds the position of working president within the BRS and is the son of Chief Minister KCR, reiterated his father's unwavering stance against working with the BJP.

"This Prime Minister displays a great deal of inconsistency. On one hand, he alleges that the BRS has financially supported the Congress in Karnataka, and on the other hand, he claims that he has barred us from the NDA. Have we been bitten by a rabid dog that we will go and join the NDA? Numerous parties have departed from your alliance - the Shiv Sena, the Janata Dal (United), the Telugu Desam Party, and the Shiromani Akali Dal," noted the minister, also known as KTR, in a blend of English and Hindi.

Taking a further jibe at the ruling alliance, he questioned, "Who stands by your side? Apart from the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate, and the Income Tax department, who remains in the NDA?"

PM Modi, in a sharp attack on the BRS earlier on Tuesday, had said that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) wanted to join NDA seeking BJP's support post Municipal Corporation elections in Hyderabad which he refused. "When BJP won 48 seats in the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election, KCR needed support. Before this election, he used to welcome me at the airport, but later suddenly he stopped doing so," the Prime Minister said as quoted by ANI.

"KCR came to meet me in Delhi...he started telling me that the country is progressing under your leadership, and said that he wanted to join NDA. He also asked me to extend support to him. I told him (KCR) that due to his deeds, Modi cannot associate with him,".."I refused him entry to NDA", the PM further added.

He remarked that the BJP's victory in 48 seats during the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections in December 2020 marked the "beginning of a process to reshape Telangana's destiny."

The Prime Minister revealed that K Chandrashekar Rao had approached him once more, expressing his intention to pass on all responsibilities, or "karobar," to his son KT Rama Rao (KTR) and sought his blessings in this regard.

In response, PM Modi claimed to have emphasized the principles of democracy asserting that the people of Telangana would ultimately determine their future leader. He also questioned, "Are you a monarch who decides unilaterally?"

Regarding KCR's absence from his events, PM Modi suggested that those tainted by corruption could not find a place in his company and "are running away"

PM Modi pledged that if the BJP were to assume power, it would be committed to "unearthing corruption" within the BRS government.