BANGALORE: Basavaraj Bommai, the Karnataka Chief Minister, is not amused with K. Chandrasekhar Rao's (KCR) comments that the border district of Raichur would develop if it is merged in Telangana.
On a visit to the district Saturday, Bommai made it clear that not an inch of Karnataka terrain would be handed over to Telangana. Bommai described as "ridiculous" Telangana Chief Minister KCR’s reported claims that Karnataka's Raichur district would develop well if it becomes part of Telangana. "Raichur has a thermal plant, airport.
Then there are many other developmental works underway. I have allocated funds under the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) and lots of grants are on the way" Bommai said. Noting that Telangana is a newly formed state with its own share of development issues, Bommai advised KCR to focus on his state's core issued instead of eyeing Karnataka territory.
On August 17, KCR while addressing a TRS event had mentioned that impressed by Telangana's development, people of Raichur in neighbouring Karnataka are demanding the district's merger with the TRS party-ruled state. In an earlier instance, a video of Telangana minister
T. Harish Rao who is also KCR's nephew, talking to some women in a border village of Karnataka had caused controversy. In the video, Harish Rao was seen asking the women about facilities provided by the Karnataka government and comparing them with the facilities extended by the Telangana government.