Chennai: Continuing his efforts to bring together an array of regional parties, Telangana Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samiti leader K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday called on veteran DMK leader M Karunanidhi and held discussions with his son and party working president M K Stalin over lunch about a possible political understanding.
Rao, who remained critical of the functioning of successive Central Governments “in the last seven decades”, however, said he had not proposed a third front at the national level. “We have not proposed a third front, fourth front or a fifth front. The so called front is created by media. We have never announced a third front. Who says there is a third front? There is nothing like a front,” he said emerging from the luncheon discussions here.
Stalin interjected and said since elections were still a year away a decision on an alliance would be decided then. The TRS chief, when pointedly asked by a journalist if he would be open to reaching out to the Congress considering that any alternative front would only help the BJP, said he was clear in his mind that “it will be the alignment of the people of India, the masses and farming community and unemployed youth”.
Rao added that he was not suggesting that he party was associated with the Congress or that it would decide on aligning with the national party. “We do not propose any such thing now,” he said adding that a decision would be taken in the next three months after internal discussions. “We are only for the betterment of the country…Do not make it pucca political,” he said adding that there won’t be any compromise while fighting for the people.
Asked if he would project Trinamul Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the Prime Ministerial candidate, the TRS leader said shot back, “You are projecting or I am projecting”. He would meet the Telugu Desam leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, too. Stalin, who had recently interacted with Mamata Banerjee over phone, said the DMK would work closely with the TRS. Rao was in touch with Chief Ministers of various States. Stalin said he had discussions with Rao on “state autonomy, safeguarding secularism, securing more rights and funds for states and shifting of education from concurrent list to the state list.”