Telangana Minister and TRS president KT Rama Rao on Sunday took exception to the state Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao not being invited to receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited the city on Saturday. In this regard, Rama Rao said the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers were not individuals but institutions, and they need to be respected by each other, adding Chandrashekhar Rao should have been invited to receive Modi.
The Prime Minister on Saturday, as part of his three-city tour to take the stock of Covid-19 vaccine development, visited a facility of Bharat Biotech located at Genome valley in Hyderabad and reviewed the progress of Covaxin, a vaccine candidate for Covid-19 being developed by the company. Rama Rao also said Modi's visit to the facility reaffirms and endorses the fact that Hyderabad is a vaccine capital of the world and thanked him as, according to KTR, it indirectly indicates that the Telangana government has supported the expansion of life sciences ecosystem in the city.
"In any state there are some protocols. If they are followed it is good for the system. Whether it is CM KCR or whoever the CM is or whoever the PM is, there has to be respect between the institutions. It is good for the nation," Rama Rao told reporters. "CM (KCR) should have been invited. When he was ready to go and welcome the honourable Prime Minister, what is the harm in it. He did not lose any respect. It is they who lost their respect," he added.
The minister said Modi should ensure that the vaccine industry is helped by expeditious regulatory clearances and clear whatever hurdles are there in the process of development of COVID-19 vaccine. "Let me also thank him because it indirectly also says that this Telangana government has supported the expansion of life sciences ecosystem in Hyderabad. His visit itself is a testimony that good work is being done here," he said.
Replying to a query, he said though he does not want to "belittle" the PM by saying that has other intentions behind his visit, the trip to the city can be seen in the political lens. He said the TRS party earlier supported the NDA government on some issues in the Parliament and equally opposed certain policies.
He asserted that it will continue in future also. On the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls, KTR said his party will comfortably emerge victorious with an absolute majority without having to depend on ex- officio votes to get the mayor post.
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