Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao launched a trenchant attack on Rahul Gandhi, describing him as the “biggest buffoon in the country” while speaking to reporters today.
Mr KCR, was addressing a lengthy press conference after announcing that the state assembly would be dissolved, which set Telangana on course to early polls.
“Everyone knows what Rahul Gandhi is…He’s the biggest buffoon in the country. Whole country has seen how he went to Mr Narendra Modi and hugged him, the way he is winking,” said KCR, in his unfiltered attack, referring to the 47-year-old Congress chief’s much-talked about act of hugging the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha.
When asked about the Congress president’s plans to campaign in the state, KCR scoffed: “He is an asset for us. The more he comes to Telangana, the more seats we will win.”
The Chief Minister of India’s newest state also said Rahul Gandhi had inherited the “Congress’s Delhi sultanate”. And so, he said, the people of Telangana should not be slaves to Delhi. “The decisions of Telangana should be taken in Telangana,” he said.
A stung Congress responded: “Only a buffoon can say this”. Congress leader RC Khuntia said the Telangana chief minister had no right to say anything about RG, when he was promoting his own family. “He is a Hitler, a dictator. He hasn’t visited his office because of superstition,” Mr Khuntia said.
Earlier today, KCR asked the Governor to dissolve the assembly, a decision that had been anticipated for days. The move pushes forward the elections from the middle of 2019 to the end of this year.
The Chief Minister also named more than 100 candidates of his Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). He will formally launch the party’s election campaign with a public meeting at Husnabad in Siddipet district on Friday. Christened “Prajala Aasirwada Sabha”, this will be the first of 100 public meetings planned by TRS over the next 50 days.
Mr Rao’s push for early elections is seen as a move to keep his voter base together. Had the assembly completed the full term, it would have clashed with the general elections and the focus would shift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The TRS chief has been pitching for a non-Congress-non-BJP front for the 2019 polls for months. The Congress, however, accuses him of working to a secret pact with the BJP.
(PTI)
