Hyderabad: Chief Minister and BRS president K. Chandrashekar Rao, as was expected, stayed away from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s programmes in the city on Saturday. And so did some of his Cabinet colleagues who were expected to share the dais with the Prime Minister at the Parade Ground public meeting.
Though the Chief Minister’s reluctance to be seen in public with Modi is now well-known, some in the Bharatiya Janata Party raised questions about his absence, pointing out that it was surprising that Rao chose to stay away from the function when the BRS government had earmarked a chair for him next to Modi on the dais.
In its memo on the Prime Minister’s visit, the general administration department (GAD) had made it clear that there should be seats on the dais not just for the Chief Minister but for ministers T. Harish Rao, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Md. Mahmood Ali and Vemula Prashant Reddy.
The others for whom seating arrangements were made included Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and G. Kishan Reddy, along with Congress MP from Malkajgiri A. Revanth Reddy. The TPCC chief also skipped the event.
“The GAD also mentioned that time has been set aside for the Chief Minister to address the gathering. It is a pity that no leader from BNRS turned up for the function,” a BJP source said.
