Responding positively to the gesture of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu personally extending invitation, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has decided to attend the foundation ceremony of the new Capital Amaravati on Thursday. A day after Naidu visited KCR’s residence and spent almost an hour with him, officials from Telangana Chief Minister’s office contacted their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh administration to seek details of the route map to reach the venue of the event.
Official sources said KCR was scheduled to attend an event in Suryapet in Nalgonda district on October 21 and from there he intended to drive down to the venue, about 150 kms away. But the Andhra Pradesh officials have advised Telangana Chief Minister to take a helicopter to Gannavaram airport near Vijayawada from where another helicopter will bring him along with other VIPs to the venue at the Uddandarayunipalem village.
AP officials were of the view that taking a land route will pose a security challenge as all the roads were likely to be clogged with traffic as more than 2 lakh people were expected to attend the event.
Naidu’s personal visit to KCR’s residence to invite him and his wife seems to have broken the ice as the two leaders spent quiet sometime together discussing various issues including the power situation and the linking of rivers. It was significant as there have been thorny issues between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh since the bifurcation of the State in June last year.
Warmth and bonhomie prevailed as the two smiling leaders exchanged pleasantries, flowers and shawls. Vaastu, a subject of mutual interest also came up during the discussion as Naidu informed KCR that the entire design of the new Capital city was Vaastu compliant. KCR appreciated the location of the new city on the banks of river Krishna between Guntur and Vijayawada.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be laying the foundation for the new Capital on Thursday afternoon.
KCR raised the issue of power situation in both the States. He also suggested that both the Telugu States should pressurise the Center for two industrial corridors, one from Amaravati to Mumbai via Hyderabad and another Hyderabad to Bengaluru via Anantapur. Naidu responded positively to the ideas of KCR.
The cordial meeting was in sharp contrast to the lot of heat and dust raised between the two Chief Ministers by the cash-for-vote scam involving a TDP MlA in Telangana and allegations of Andhra Pradesh Government that the Telangana State was involved in tapping the phones of Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders of the State.
However, the meeting has also kicked up a political row. Senior Congress MP from Telangana G Sukhinder Reddy warned KCR against attending the foundation ceremony. He wondered whether new found bonhomie between the two was at the cost of the cash-for-vote scam.
Recalling the fiery statements made by KCR and other Telangana leaders alleging the involvement of Naidu in the scam, he wanted to know the progress made in the case. “Why is the Telangana Government silent on taking action against Naidu”, he asked.
YSR Congress party leader Botsa Satyanarayana also demanded the Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to make public what transpired in his meeting with KCR.
Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu visited Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad and personally invited media moghul and Eenadu Group Chairman Ramoji Rao to the Amaravati foundation ceremony. Naidu flew in a helicopter from Hyderabad to Ramoji Film City in the outskirts to extend the invitation to Ramoji and his family.
Ramoji, publisher and editor of the largest circulated Telugu daily “Eenadu” and “ETV” channel, has often been described as a mentor to Naidu from the days when he took the reins of the TDP and the Andhra Pradesh Government in 1995.