Hyderabad: When he ended his speech at a public meeting in Pragathi Bhavan on Sunday with “Jai Bharat!” instead of the usual “Jai Telangana!”, TRS chief and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was signalling loud and clear his entry into national politics and his intention of forging a Third Front against the BJP and Congress.
Mr Rao said he will meet leaders in all states except those rules by the Congress and BJP and seek their support for the new Front. “We will seek the guidance of economists, agriculture scientists and other experts to prepare an agenda for the new Front which will follow a truthful cooperative federalism with limited powers to the Centre and maximum powers to states. Not namesake cooperative federalism that is being followed now, against the spirit of the Constitution.”
Mr Rao came down heavily on the BJP and Congress for the serious problems people face even after 70 years of Independence.
“Look at China. They have made tremendous progress in the past 25 years. It has become the economic power of the world, next only to the US. When we point this out, they say China’s constitution, rules, are different. Why don’t we make similar changes? Who stopped you all these years?” Mr Rao questioned.
He accused the BJP and Congress of keeping all the powers with them and making the states “puppets” in their hands.
“There is Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana. This is shameful. What has PM to do with laying roads in six lakh villages? Are there are no sarpanches, mandal, zilla parishads, state governments to do this job? Even for giving wages to NREGA workers in villages, the amount is sent from Delhi. My demand is Centre should handle only national security, Army etc. The rest of the powers should be transferred to the states. Look at the US. They have a Supreme Court for each state. There is no central domination there. The police commissioner works under the Mayor. There is a Federal Court to deal with cases of states. That model should be adopted here,” Mr Rao opined.
