Smriti Irani slams KCR for not receiving PM Modi at Hyderabad airport

Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday slammed Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao for not being present at Hyderabad airport to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his arrival in the city to attend the Bharatiya Janata Party's National Executive meeting.

Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, Irani said that the chief minister (KCR) has insulted both an individual and an institution.

"Telangana CM KCR insulted not just an individual but also an institution. He jeopardised the integrity of the constitution. Politics may be a circus for KCR's party, but for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers it is a medium for social emancipation and nation-building," said Irani.

Talking to the mediapersons about the national executive meet, she said, "BJP national president JP Nadda addressed the party's national executive meet where he mentioned the pro-poor welfare policies of the Modi government. In the last eight years, our government worked for the empowerment of women and assisted youth in servicing the nation," she added.

"BJP national president spoke elaborately on government schemes on Jan Dhan Yojana which has provided economic support to close to 45 crore people, Prime Minister Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat scheme along with mentioning social service schemes and policies for farmers," she stated.

Earlier today, KCR did not receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the airport on his arrival in the city today to participate in the two-day-long Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Executive meeting.

While KCR received the Opposition's presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha at the Begumpet Airport just a couple of hours before PM Modi landed at the same airport.

Instead, the Prime Minister was received by minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav and other leaders of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

KCR has announced his support for Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha in the upcoming presidential polls slated to be held on July 18.

Notably, this is for the third time in six months that CM KCR is skipping the protocol of receiving a visiting Prime Minister. Earlier, he had flown to Bengaluru in May when PM Modi visited the state to attend the 20th annual celebrations at the Indian School of Business (ISB). In February this year, KCR had remained absent during the Prime Minister's visit to Hyderabad.

The two-day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Executive meeting will start in Hyderabad today.

The meeting will be attended by BJP national president JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Ministers of 19 states and other BJP senior leaders at Hyderabad International Convention Centre.

The BJP's initiative comes at a time when Telangana is heading for Assembly polls in 2023 and the BJP sees a huge prospect of bringing down the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi government.

This two-day meeting of the BJP has seen the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leadership taking potshots at the Modi government especially when the leaders talk about development.

( With inputs from ANI )