Don’t come to airport to receive PM: KCR told by PMO

The Prime Minister will be arriving in Hyderabad on a visit to Bharat Biotech which is in the process of developing ‘Covaxin’ in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: In an unprecedented development that is as much shocking as it is undemocratic, the Prime Minister’s Office informed that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao need not come to the airport to receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the airport on Saturday.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive in Hyderabad for a visit to Bharat Biotech, the pharma major that is developing ‘Covaxin’ for a review of the progress the company had made. As per protocol, the Telangana State government informed the PMO that the Chief Minister would be receiving Modi at the airport. However, an official from the PMO informed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar that Chaandrashekhar Rao need not receive the Prime Minister, giving a go-by to established protocol and practices.

---

The PMO also said that only five persons including the Chief Secretary, DGP M Mahendar Reddy, Cyberabad Commissioner VC Sajjannar and Medchal District Collector Shweta Mohanty will receive the Prime Minister.

Coming as it does when the campaign for the GHMC elections has been marred by controversies sparked by the State BJP leadership’s unsavoury comments, the Prime Minister’s decision does come as a shock, and a move seen by many analysts as being politically incorrect that hurts Telugu pride. This is probably the first time in the history of the country that a democratically elected Chief Minister of a State has been asked to keep away from receiving the Prime Minister. This, observers feel, will send a wrong signal to non-BJP ruled States that does not augur well for democracy.

 

---

Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.

Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .