Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is like an "elder brother" to the states, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday made his intentions clear that he would not like to confront the Centre, but would maintain cordial relations.
Addressing a gathering on the occasion of the PM launching or laying the foundation for Rs 56,000 crore worth of projects, Reddy sought Modi's cooperation to develop Telangana on the lines of Gujarat. Reddy said Telangana with capital Hyderabad, the fifth largest city in the country, would like to contribute to PM Modi's ambitious goal of making India a USD 5 trillion economy.
After a long time, a Chief Minister of Telangana received PM Modi and shared the dais with him during an official event. BRS supremo and former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao had, on several occasions, skipped the PM's official visits to the state in the past.
"Narendra Modi ji, according to us, Prime Minister means like our elder brother. If there is support from the elder brother, only then can chief ministers take forward development works in their respective states," he said. "That is why my request is, if Telangana has to be developed on the lines of Gujarat, your support is essential here," the Congress chief minister said.
PM Modi in his address, noted that the NDA government and Telangana have both completed 10 years and said the Centre has been providing all possible assistance to the state to fulfil the dreams of its people.
Emphasising that the nation's development comes through the growth of states, Modi said that with a better economy, trust in the country grows and that states also benefit from it as they get investments. The Telangana CM said the state government will extend necessary operation and give necessary clearances to NTPC for completing the 4,000 MW power plant of which only 1,600 MW became operational.
He further said as per the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, the Centre has to set up a 4,000 MW power plant in Telangana. However, due to the acts of the previous BRS government, only 1,600 MW was completed in the last 10 years.
He said the people will ultimately lose when there is friction between the Centre and the states. Politics should be limited to elections only and after the polls the elected leaders should thrive for the development of the state with the help of the Centre.
The Telangana Chief Minister said PM Modi responded positively when he met him seeking clearances for some issues. Reddy sought Modi's cooperation to expand the semiconductor industry in the state besides Musi River development.
