Telangana: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, on Monday said that he was in touch with political strategist Prashant Kishor who "would not work for money but for his commitment to the nation" thus further upping the ante on his efforts to form an opposition alliance against the ruling BJP.
"Yes, I have spoken to Prashant Kishor to assist us in bringing a national change. He is working with me on this. Is this wrong if I would work with Prashant Kishor," KCR said during a press conference on Monday. The Telangana CM said he had invited Prashant to work with him effectively in national politics and the former's attempts to bring the opposition together to face BJP in 2024. "He (Prashant) would not work for money but for (his) commitment towards the country," he said.
On February 27, Prashant Kishore arrived in Hyderabad and met KCR at his farmhouse in Erravelli. The duo discussed national politics, elections, and their consequences in the five states. The meeting between KCR and Prashant Kishore lasted for about eight hours. While TRS, KCR's party, attempted to keep the meeting secret, it assumed significance in the context of KCR's focus on national politics.
It was learnt that the two discussed KCR's proposal of the alternative political platform at the national level and also the summary of KCR's discussions with Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray as well as NCP chief Sharad Pawar on February 20, along with the CM's future plans of activity in national politics. Last month, the Telangana CM had also met renowned actor Prakash Raj.
Also read: CM KCR vows to put country on track till last drop of blood
Meanwhile, during the press conference on Monday, KCR continued attacking BJP saying the party was "using religion to buy votes and win elections". Referring to the movie 'The Kashmir Files', KCR said that BJP was trying to promote religious enmity among the people. "Which sector has seen development in the 8 years of the BJP government? Show me one sector where we have seen development... Even Telangana, which otherwise is on the path of development, was impacted by the overall slump in the country. I said in the Assembly that our GSDP was Rs 11.5 lakh crore. If the centre had performed the way our state did, our GSDP would have been Rs 14.5 lakh crore. We lost three lakh crore due to the centre's inefficiency and non-performance. I am saying this as an authority, as a chief minister," he said.
