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Updated: Jun 19, 2019 09:54 IST

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has said he was the first person to criticise Narendra Modi and will stand by his criticism of the Prime Minister.

KCR, as the chief minister is popularly known, also reiterated his party would continue to oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party on the political front but will maintain constitutional relations with the NDA government at the Centre.

“I called him the most fascist ruler of the country. It was on record and I stand by it,” KCR said while speaking to media while briefing the decisions taken by the state cabinet.

The chief minister reminded that his party was not a part of the NDA. “I mooted the idea of the federal front (of anti-Congress and anti-BJP parties). I will continue to make efforts in that direction,” he asserted.

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KCR also strongly defended his decision of not inviting the Prime Minister for the inauguration of the Kaleshwaram project, which he claimed is the world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation scheme, on June 21. The project would utilise water from the Godavari, which flows through Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

“Why should I invite the Prime Minister to every function? Is there any such rule? We invited Modi to the inauguration of Mission Bhagiratha in the past, though there was no financial assistance from the Centre despite a recommendation from NITI Aayog,” he said.

“Now, we did not want to invite him for the Kaleshwaram project inauguration. It is my dream project. The Centre has not given a single rupee for such a huge project.”

The chief minister would not attend Wednesday’s meeting called by Modi to discuss the “one nation, one election” issue, among others. He has instead deputed his son and working president of the TRS KT Rama Rao.

He had also skipped the Prime Minister’s swearing-in ceremony on May 30 and also the NITI Aayog meeting last week.

KCR said he has invited Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for the Kaleshwaram project function.

Also Read | KCR’s mega yagnam on June 21, CMs of Andhra, Maharashtra to attend

“It is going to be a festive occasion, as the project has been completed in a record time thanks to the cooperation extended by the neighbouring states,” he said.

Stating that Telangana had redefined the inter-state relations, KCR said he had proved that all the inter-state disputes, including water, could be resolved through mutual agreements and dialogues, without the involvement of the Centre or tribunals.

“The Bachawat Tribunal on Krishna water disputes could not provide a solution to the issues confronting the riparian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh even after 15 years. But now, we have taken initiative in resolving the same through negotiations and it is yielding excellent results,” the chief minister said.

He said both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have agreed to discuss the sharing of Krishna and Godavari river waters amicably. The first meeting of irrigation officials of both the states would take place in Hyderabad on June 25, which would be followed by another meeting in Vijayawada, he said.

The TRS president lashed out at the BJP’s leaders for trying to gain political mileage by raising communal issues. “It is ridiculous on the part of the minister of state for home G Kishan Reddy to describe Hyderabad as a hub of terrorists. He should know that there was not a single communal riot in the capital city in the last five years,” he said.

He said the cabinet decided to construct new buildings for Telangana secretariat and state assembly at a cost of Rs 400 crore and Rs 100 crore respectively, for which foundation stone would be laid on June 27.

“While the new secretariat will come up in place of the existing campus, the new assembly building will come up at a 17-acre place which will be modelled on the lines of Parliament building of New Delhi,” he said.

Among other decisions of the cabinet were: enactment of the new municipal act, enhancement of retirement age for government employees from 58 to 61 years and announcement of pay revision commission for the state employees.