Congress leader Hanumantha Rao on Saturday took a swipe at Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and said that he is fighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on one side while helping him on the other.
Rao's remarks came after KCR reportedly deployed survey agencies in some districts of Karnataka in view of assembly polls in the state next year.
Speaking to ANI, Rao said, "KCR has started election campaigning. He wanted to tie up with JDS, HD Deve Gowda and contest in four neighbours which were previously in Hyderabad state. He wants to contest in Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur and Bellari. He is surveying for that. Let him survey. But first, we request him to fulfill the promises that he made to Telangana especially the double-bedroom house and others. Let him go anywhere."
"In a democratic country, anybody can put a party and contest anywhere. But how much will you succeed in that area? He is indirectly helping the BJP. There is a secular Congress party which will give a good defeat to BJP in the coming elections. KCR is unnecessarily going there and creating a problem which will finally benefit the BJP. On one side you are fighting Narendra Modi and indirectly helping him on the other side," he added.
Rao said that KCR is "creating problems unnecessarily" and "indirectly helping the BJP".
"Already all the secular forces including Nitish and Stalin are coming towards one side for the upcoming 2023 elections. KCR is unnecessarily creating problems and indirectly helping BJP," Rao said.
Meanwhile, the BJP has taken a jibe at KCR's reported move of surveys stating that no party can expand its footprint by such methods.
Telangana BJP spokesperson Prakash Reddy said assembly polls in Karnataka, likely to be held in April-May, will be fought between the BJP and Congress.
"Just by surveys, no party can expand its boundaries. A party can grow in an area by working for the people in the area, developing the leadership there, and conducting programs. No party will grow just by doing surveys if people are in favour of or against BJP, this is clear in a democratic process," Reddy told ANI.
He said surveys will not help the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) get support in the Karnataka polls.
"If KCR wants to go for some survey with his own methodologies, it will not help the party in any way when the elections are supposed to be held by the end of April. I don't think KCR will come out of Pragati Bhavan or his farmhouse. How can he plan for the elections in Karnataka? Karnataka is a bigger state than Telangana," Reddy said.
He accused KCR of "media leaks" to divert the attention of people from real issues.
"Conducting surveys.....are mind games as always. He will leak news to media so that people will discuss about it. He does this type of thing to divert the people from the main issue," the BJP leader said.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor