Akhilesh Yadav’s warmth with KTR irks Congress; BJP says BRS part of INDI bloc

The recent bonhomie displayed between Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BRS working president KT Rama Rao has not only left Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his party, Congress, squirming, but has also triggered criticism from the BJP.

Pointing out that Yadav is a key member of the INDI Alliance led by the Congress, state BJP president N Ramchander Rao said it was evident that BRS was an active and integral player in the alliance.

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He claimed that this was proof enough that the Congress’s allegations that the BJP and BRS have an understanding in Telangana have been proved otherwise.

After a brief meeting with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Akhilesh Yadav had yesterday met the BRS leaders KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao. After yesterday’s long meeting, where Yadav had spoken warmly about the Kalvakuntla family, today he went to a traditional South Indian eatery with KT Rama Rao for lunch.

The visible bonhomie between the two leaders has left the ruling Congress uneasy. The BJP state president, N Ramchander Rao, also called out the Congress over this visit of Akhilesh Yadav.

“Congress and BRS are two sides of the same coin. BJP has been stating this truth from day one and what happened yesterday only exposed it further. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav meeting both BRS working president KTR and Congress chief minister Revanth Reddy clearly shows that BRS is an active and integral player in the INDI Alliance,” said the BJP leader.

He further accused the Congress of spreading the “baseless narrative” that the BJP and BRS are together and said the recent developments have stripped Congress of any credibility on this claim.

“There is absolutely no difference between these two parties – their motto is the same: ‘By the family, for the family and of the family.”

However, the bond between the Kalvakuntla family and Akhilesh Yadav is also on a personal level since BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao had firmly stood beside him when his father and former defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav passed away. He also visited the state and addressed rallies along with KCR when the latter was trying to forge a third front with the regional parties.