KCR dubs Rahul biggest buffoon
Announces assembly would be dissolved, which means Telangana polls at year end
Even as the jury is out on whether Rahul Gandhi has come of age politically, Telangana chief minister and TRS president K Chandrashekar Rao has come out with his own prognosis: the Congress president is the "biggest buffoon" in the country. KCR spotted the tell-tale signs of buffoonery when ‘‘Rahul went and hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament and later winked at his colleagues in the House.’’ KCR was addressing the media hours after announcing that the state assembly would be dissolved, which sets Telangana on course for early polls. The move pushes forward the elections from the middle of 2019 to the end of this year.
Earlier this week, he had stopped short of announcing the move, prompting a Congress dig that "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slave and puppet may have dropped the idea."
Possibly taking offence at that comment, KCR on Thursday went hammer and tongs at the Congress chief, saying: "Everyone knows what Rahul Gandhi is...He's the biggest buffoon
in the country. The entire country saw how he went to Narendra Modi and hugged him, and the way he later winked."
Asked about the Congress president's plans to campaign in the state, KCR scoffed: "He is an asset for us. The more he comes to Telangana, the more seats we will win."
A stung Congress retorted: "Only a buffoon can say this".
Political observers said KCR had given the game away: that he is leaning towards the BJP and looks at the Congress as his main rival.
The Telangana Chief Minister also said: "Rahul Gandhi has inherited the legacy of the Congress Delhi Sultanate. That is the reason I appeal to the people, let's not become slaves to Congress, slaves to Delhi." He described the Congress as the "biggest enemy" of Telangana, flaying it for "baseless, mindless and meaningless" allegations against the TRS government. "The number one villain and biggest enemy of the Telangana is Congress,’’ he added.
The battle lines have been drawn.