After Mamata, KCR Decides to Skip PM's 'One Nation, One Election' Meet; Naidu's Presence Also Unsure

New Delhi: Not just West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, but her Telangana counterpart K Chandrashekar Rao will also miss the meeting of the party presidents called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Former Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu's presence is uncertain too.

According to a report in The Times of India, KCR is scheduled to attend several meetings in the coming days, including a Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) meeting on Wednesday. A source told News18 that the Telangana CM will instead send his son KT Rama Rao for the meeting.

KCR, however, late on Tuesday addressed a press conference to announce his decision, and making it clear that his government will only maintain "constitutional relations with Centre". "What is there to discuss there? I still back my federal front. No use talking to Centre. Didn't even get Re 1 for the state. I have already stated that Modi runs a fascist government. It's a fact on record," he said.

This is the second meeting, which the TRS chief may miss. Earlier, he could attend the NITI Aayog meeting held in Delhi ahead of the first Parliament session. "He is busy with Kaleshwaram project, so he could not attend the Niti Aayog meeting," a party source was quoted as saying by TOI.

TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu is also likely to skip the meeting as he is scheduled to go on a short vacation abroad. "On Wednesday, Naidu is scheduled to go on a short vacation abroad along with his family members for a week. Hence, he is not in a position to attend the all-party meeting. He will back in Amaravati on June 25," a Hindustan Times report quoted a TDP leader as saying.

The TOI report, however, stated the tension between the TDP and PM Modi for his speculated absence. "We have only six MPs in Parliament, given the scenario, our chief may not go," a party leader was quoted as saying.

The Union government has invited all presidents of political parties with representation in the Parliament, including the chief ministers of the two Telugu states — KCR and YS Jaganmohan Reddy — and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, with an aim to deliberate on five agendas of their choice.

Earlier on Tuesday, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee had declined the invitation and asked the Centre to instead prepare a white paper on 'one nation, one election' for consultations.

In a letter to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, Banerjee said the matter of 'one country, one election' required consultations with experts. "A proper response on such a sensitive and serious subject like 'one country, one election' in such a short time would not do justice to the subject. The matter requires consultations with constitutional experts, election experts and above all, the party members.

Banerjee had also skipped a NITI Aayog meeting last Saturday and also did not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a second term on May 30. She had called the NITI Aayog meeting "fruitless".

PM Modi has invited the heads of all the political parties that have at least one member either in the Lok Sabha or in the Rajya Sabha for a meeting on June 19 to discuss several issues, including the "one nation, one election" idea, celebration of 75 years of India's Independence in 2022 and the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi this year.