KCR hints at change in stance towards Congress

Hyderabad, Feb (IANS) Hinting a major shift in his stance towards Congress, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday said all forces have to unite to shunt out the BJP as its continuation in the country will ruin the country.

He also revealed that he will soon have meetings with his Maharashtra and West Bengal counterparts Uddhav Thackeray and Mamata Banerjee, as part of efforts to unite various political parties.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President said Banerjee called him and they had a discussion over phone. "She may come anytime. We are discussing," he told reporters.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said Thackeray was also waiting for him and he may go to Mumbai anytime.

The TRS chief said he was sharing views with all the leaders and ultimately all together will decide whether it should be the national party or front. "I promise you one thing. I will play a major role in that," he said.

Asked if he will work with the Congress, KCR said he cannot predict anything. "I cannot predict anything like that. All forces have to unite and shunt out BJP. First we have to do this, later whatever is to happen will happen," he said.

Before the 2019 elections, the TRS chief had met leaders of various parties to cobble together a front as an alternative to both the BJP and the Congress.

"Being a political leader before the 2019 elections I made my efforts. I met several political leaders and shared my views with them. I gave them a lot of literature. We mooted our ideas. We tried our best but things went in a different way and ultimately, the BJP came back in power. Situation is now proving disastrous for the nation. Day by day situation is worsening," he said.

For a second consecutive day, KCR condemned Assam Chief Minister Hemant Biswas Sharma's offensive comments on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He also slammed BJP for toppling Congress governments in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh to capture power despite not getting the public mandate.

Lashing out at the Modi government, KCR said people, especially youth should rise to save the country.

He voiced concern over the attempts being made to create trouble in the name of religion and warned that this could lead to a civil war-like situation.