Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy’s remarks in Adilabad calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “big brother”, evoked a response from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership in neighboring state Karnataka where the Congress-led state government and the BJP-led centre have been at loggerheads over various issues.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka commended Revanth for his remarks at the Adilabad meet and asked chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar “to learn from their younger colleague.”
“This is how a responsible and statesmanlike Chief Minister of a state is expected to conduct with the Prime Minister of the country in a federal system. CM @siddaramaiah avare and DCM @DKShivakumar avare, please learn from your younger colleague in Telangana on how to put the development of the state and interests of the people of the state above petty party politics,” Karnataka leader of opposition and senior BJP leader R Ashoka remarked, sharing a video of Revanth’s address in Adilabad.
Addressing the Adilabad meeting, Revanth remarked that the state government is not interested in a “duel” with the Centre but wants its support to improve the state’s prospects.
“We want to be a participant in your (Modi) vision of a 5 trillion economy….We want to take Telangana forward just like Gujarat did,” he said, in a message to PM Modi.
After a long time, a chief minister of Telangana received PM Modi and shared dais with him during the official programme. BRS supremo and former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao had, on several occasions, skipped the PM’s official visits to the state in the past.
Feud between Karnataka and Centre
The feud between the Karnataka government led by chief minister Siddaramaiah and Centre led byPrime Minister Modi majorly revolves around tax protests and accusations of injustice towards Karnataka.
Siddaramaiah criticized PM Modi for creating a “North-South divide” over tax funds and the Centre hit back alleging that the Congress led state government’s rhetoric is “causing a threat” to national unity.
The Karnataka chief minister in return highlighted Modi’s past criticisms of the UPA government on similar issues and said that his criticisms do not threaten national unity.
PM Modi also accused the Congress of damaging Karnataka and working against the nation’s interests.
Siddaramaiah led a protest in Delhi in February against the Centre’s tax devolution policies, alleging ‘injustice’ to Karnataka and disrespect for the federal structure.
The protest aimed to counter the BJP by raising issues of regional pride and addressing alleged mistreatment of the state.
The BJP dismissed these allegations as politically motivated narratives and emphasized following Finance Commission recommendations for fund distribution.
The ongoing tensions reflect a broader political struggle between the Congress-led state government and the BJP-led Central government over financial allocations and regional representation.
