Kalvakuntala Kavitha, daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), has alleged that she was approached with proposals from people and outfits close to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a “Shinde-model” government in Telangana.
Shinde-model refers to the strategy used by the BJP to form a government by luring a faction in the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde to withdraw support to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde was later made the Chief Minister.
“There have been proposals brought to me by friends of the BJP and organisations friendly to them, asking me to join the party and even proposing a model called the ‘Shinde-model’. I said that Telangana people do not cheat the people of Telangana… Telangana people do not betray their own parties and their own leaders. We will become leaders on our own strength… not through the back door. We have rejected their proposal very politely,” said Kavitha, while addressing the media on Friday, November 18. She however refused to name the persons who had approached her.
Kavitha held the press conference in response to BJP MP Arvind Dharmapuri’s comments that the BJP would never attempt to destabilise the Telangana government by approaching Kavitha or KCR’s son KT Rama Rao. “Who would want to buy her?” he asked. He alleged that there is a deep wedge between KCR and Kavitha after the former was not invited at the TRS party renaming event. Disappointed over this, Kavitha wanted to join the Congress party, he alleged.
Strongly reacting to the Nizamabad MP’s remarks, Kavitha said, “I always talk about issues and not persons. But today I am going to make personal comments. Arvind, remember this: If you repeat nonsensical things about me I will slap you with slippers in Nizamabad junction,” she said.
Claiming that she denied proposals to join the BJP, Kavitha said that she will bravely face the consequences of rejecting the proposal. “We are always among the people. We will face it. We are seeing the trend where the Opposition leaders are harassed by the Enforcement Directorate,” she said.
Referring to the case of the Enforcement Directorate summoning Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, she said that the harassment of the executive president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was “unfortunate.”
“I had categorically rejected the proposals that have been brought to me because my heart always is in a party where my leader is, and I have one and only leader in this entire life and he will remain to be the one, which is honourable KCR garu,” Kavitha said.
Reacting to Arvind’s remarks, TRS supporters on Friday barged into the MP’s residence in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, and vandalised properties.