KCR returns to Hyderabad

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao returned to Hyderabad on Friday evening after successful completion of his six-day visit to various States, including New Delhi, West Bengal and Odisha.

Besides renewing his efforts to bring together like-minded forces to form a Federal Front, Rao, who had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, succeeded in getting assurances from the Central government to address several long-pending issues. The Presidential Order for bifurcation of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad was issued when the Chief Minister was in New Delhi.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by his family members and Rajya Sabha member J Santosh Kumar, political secretary Seri Subash Reddy, MLA Vemula Prashanth Reddy and others to Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata and New Delhi during the six-day tour. During his return journey to Hyderabad on Friday, his daughter and Nizamabad MP K Kavitha also joined the group.

In his first attempt to give a definite shape to the Federal Front after winning the Assembly elections recently, Chandrashekhar Rao called on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to discuss the issue. Naveen Patnaik agreed with him on the dire need for



unification of regional parties in the country to build a strong alternative to the Congress and the BJP at the national level. He also declared that they would continue to hold further talks.

He also resumed his discussion with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was one of the first leaders to extend her support to Chandrashekhar Rao on the proposed Federal Front and unification of regional parties. Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who could not meet Rao in New Delhi, said he planned to visit Hyderabad next month and take forward the talks on the issue.

The Chief Minister also made a courtesy call to the Prime Minister after getting elected for a second consecutive term and presented a 16-point wish-list of pending issues pertaining to the State. The Prime Minister responded positively to the request and assured Rao that decisions would be taken soon. Minutes after the Chief Minister emphasised the need for a separate High Court for Telangana during the meeting, orders were issued bifurcating the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad in accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act with effect from January 1.