The war of words between the ruling TRS and BJP over protocol issues and the Centre allegedly not doing enough for Telangana continued on Friday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state.
Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy took exception to billboards installed in the state opposing PM Modi's visit and the CPI calling for a bandh in Ramagundam town where the Prime Minister would dedicate a fertilizer plant to the nation during his visit on Saturday.
"They call for Ramagundam bandh. On whose motivation the (bandh) call is given, Telangana society is watching. The people of the country and Telangana had given bandh (shutdown) to your party long ago," he said, without directly naming the CPI.
The billboards were installed without revealing the actual identity of who erected them but it is the ruling TRS which is behind such work, he claimed.
Citing media reports that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao may not attend the Prime Minister's events though Union Fertiliser Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had written a letter to the former, Reddy said it is very regrettable.
Chief Ministers of several non-BJP-ruled states have welcomed PM Modi during his visits as politics and development programmes are different, he said.
Meanwhile, ruling TRS MLA Balka Suman said PM Modi should specify that the state-run coal mining company Singareni Collieries in Telangana will not be privatised.
He said PM Modi should also announce that Income Tax exemption would be given to the workers of Singareni Collieries as proposed by the state government earlier.
The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is a state-run coal mining company jointly owned by the Government of Telangana and the Centre on a 51:49 equity basis.
Senior TRS leader and Vice Chairman of state Planning Board B Vinod Kumar said an invitation to the Chief Minister was sent by the Union Minister concerned and not by the PM's Office.
The TRS and BJP have been engaged in a war of words ahead of PM's visit during the last couple of days. TRS leaders had demanded that Modi and BJP leaders should spell out what the Centre has done for Telangana.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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