Eyeing national role, KCR to meet families of farmers who died in anti-farm bills protest

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) will be in Chandigarh today as part of his tour to attend national-level political and social programmes. Accompanied by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, KCR will meet families of 600 farmers who died during the nationwide agitation against three contentious farm laws leading to their rollback.

According to officials, the Telangana chief minister will give them a compensation of Rs 3 lakh each.

A day before KCR’s visit to Chandigarh, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Vijay Singla gave a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the families of five people in Mansa who lost their lives during the farmers’ agitation.

A busy Delhi visit

The Telangana chief minister arrived in Delhi on Saturday as part of his national tour where he is scheduled to meet almost all prominent opposition leaders, except the Congress. KCR’s plan seems to be signalling towards an effort to form a third front to fight the BJP-led NDA nationally.

Also read: KCR’s Delhi ambitions remain non-starters; son KTR’s succession in jeopardy

He visited a Delhi government school and a Mohalla Clinic during the day in company of Delhi chief minister and deputy chief minister. He later said his government will set up model schools in the southern state on the lines of Delhi.

Apart from showing bonhomie with AAP leaders, KCR also met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at the latter’s official residence on the Tughlaq Road during the day. The two leaders discussed various issues concerning the country, an official statement said.

Meeting with Deve Gowda, Anna Hazare

On May 26, KCR will meet former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda in Bengaluru. The next day, he is scheduled to go to Ralegaon Siddhi in Maharashtra to meet social activist Anna Hazare. He will then visit West Bengal and Bihar to meet the families of the soldiers who died at Galwan Valley during a standoff with China, an official release said

Meanwhile, Telangana Congress has accused Mr Rao of ‘double standards’ on addressing issue of farmers. Telangana Congress spokesperson Dasoju Sravan said the chief minister has turned a blind eye to the suicide of more than 8000 farmers in his state, reports NDTV.

“If he was so concerned about the farmers, why did he support the farm laws brought in by the Centre earlier,” he said.

With Telangana firmly under his belt, KCR is now seeking a greater space for himself in national politics should a non-BJP, non-Congress front comes into being. Like NTR and Chandrababu Naidu in the past, KCR too wants to play an important role in national politics – be a kingmaker if not the king.

Also read: KCR’s 2-pronged poll strategy: Showcase growth, embrace Chandrababu