Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao | Photo Credit: IANS

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday launched a scathing attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of begging for votes by using the air and surgical strikes in Pakistan.

Rao, chief of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party, said a total of 11 surgical strikes took place during the UPA rule when Manmohan Singh was the prime minister and he served as a Cabinet minister. However, those strikes were not made public, Rao stated.

Now, PM Modi is begging for votes by using these surgical strikes, the TRS leader said.

The scathing attack came on a day when PM Modi launched the BJP's Lok Sabha poll campaign in Telangana and attacked KCR by calling him the face of the politics of dynasty and appeasement.

Speaking at a rally in Mahbubnagar district, Modi criticised the alliance between the TRS and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and said it cannot do any good to the state of Telangana.

"This alliance of those who insult 'Bharat Mata' and speak for reservation in violation of the Constitution is only for vote bank politics," Modi said. He was apparently referring to the demand by the TRS for 12 per cent reservation for Muslims in government jobs and education.

The PM also took a dig at KCR for failing to form his Cabinet for nearly three months after being re-elected. "You showed great haste in going for the Assembly elections but there was long delay in forming the Cabinet. Astrology might have been the reason for it," he said.

In his speech, the PM also slammed the Congress for "raising doubts about the capability of the Army and showing more concern for proof of the strikes in Pakistan than for the soldiers".

The Indian Air Force had conducted air strikes in Pakistan’s Balakot post the Pulwama terror attack in February, in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. The Opposition had alleged post the air strikes that the same was done keeping in mind the upcoming elections. Some of the parties even demanded to see evidence.