KCR's third front plan lacks clarity?

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had long been talking of an alternative to both the BJP and Congress and even made efforts to bring regional parties together. But his roadmap has remained ambiguous.

His move to turn the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) into Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to play a key role in national politics may lead to confusion among opposition ranks, especially in the absence of any clarity as to how the party plans to expand to States ruled by opposition parties and what it wants to achieve.

According to political observers, the public speeches made by KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, in recent weeks indicate that he is trying to put forth an alternative national agenda with strong focus on the Telangana model of development.

The BRS chief on several occasions stated that he was not looking to form a front of some parties to come to power. Stating that the country has seen many fronts in the past, KCR has called for an alternative agenda and a new political force for the country's development.

An observer pointed out that there has been a contradiction in what KCR says. On some occasions, he blamed both the BJP and Congress for all the problems faced by the country due to their wrong policies over the last 75 years.

At times, he also underlined the need to bring like-minded parties together to throw BJP out of power. In August last year, he even gave a call for a "BJP-mukt Bharat" by 2024 by throwing out the saffron party from the country and protecting the nation from its "religious madness."

The opposition camp has however, remained suspicious about KCR's real intentions. The Congress party dubbed him 'B' team of the BJP. "KCR has been impacting the Congress-led UPA umbrella. Barring the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), all the parties he is trying to join hands with were either part of UPA or were considered friendly to Congress," observed analyst Palwai Raghavendra Reddy.

BRS holds first national rally in Maha

Nanded: Recalling Chhatrapati Shivaji's achievements, Telangana Chief Minister and BRS President K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday said his party will take a pledge at Shivneri, the erstwhile Maratha ruler's birthplace, to form a government for farmers' welfare in the country.

Speaking at a public meeting here, he said within 10 days, the BRS' party vehicles will go to every village in all 288 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra to form farmers' committees.

"We will visit the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Shivneri, bow our head and take oath for making a farmers' government. The process to make farmers' committees in entire Maharashtra will begin," he said.

"Within a few days, BRS party work will start in Maharashtra. Within eight to 10 days, BRS vehicles will come to the village in Maharashtra. Committees will be formed. In order to unite farmers in Maharashtra which has 288 Assembly constituencies, all 288 vehicles will start at once," he added.

TS Budget to be tabled in Assembly today

Hyderabad: The Telangana cabinet on Sunday approved the State Budget 2023-24, which will be tabled in the State Assembly on Monday.

The cabinet met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at Pragati Bhavan, the official residence of the Chief Minister. The State cabinet discussed and approved the budget proposals, said the Chief Minister's Office. State Finance Minister, T Harish Rao will present the Budget in the State Assembly on Monday. With Assembly elections scheduled to be held towards the end of this year, this will be the last Budget of the BRS government in its present term.

Ahead of the upcoming State Assembly elections, the government is likely to announce some new proposals and increase the allocations to various departments. The overall size of the budget is likely to exceed Rs three lakh crore. Last year, the Finance Minister had presented the 2022-23 Budget with an outlay of Rs 2.56 lakh crore.