HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who wants to have no truck with the Congress, made a quick visit to Bengaluru on Tuesday to congratulate JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy ahead of his swearing-in ceremony as the Chief Minister on Wednesday. Mr Rao returned on Tuesday night itself. JD(S) had invited all anti-BJP Chief Ministers, AICC president Rahul Gandhi and many other leaders for the swearing-in ceremony. Mr Gandhi tweeted on Tuesday, confirming his visit to Bengaluru on Wednesday: “I will be attending Kumaraswamy’s swearing in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on Wednesday in Bangalore”.
According to sources, Mr Rao, who has proposed a new anti-BJP and anti-Congress Front might have felt that if he goes for the swearing-in ceremony of Mr Kumaraswamy, he might face an embarrassing situation as Mr Gandhi and many other party leaders are also attending the function.
So he might have planned to congratulate Mr Kumaraswamy in advance. Mr Rao went to Bengaluru on a special flight and returned at night. The Telangana Chief Minister’s office said: “Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is leaving for Bangalore on Tuesday evening to congratulate H.D. Kumaraswamy, who will be sworn in as Karnataka Chief Minister on Wednesday. In view of important engagements on Wednesday, CM KCR will return to Hyderabad on Tuesday night itself”.
In another press note, the CMO said that Mr Rao will be holding an emergency meeting with the Ministers and Collectors on Wednesday at 1 pm at Pragathi Bhavan to review the distribution of Pattadar passbooks and Rythu Bandhu Scheme cheques and also to take steps to complete this by June 2. Those invited include anti-BJP and anti-Congress leaders whose agenda is to defeat the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
