Hyderabad, Dec 29 (IANS) The Telangana Assembly on Monday witnessed a rare moment of bonhomie as Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy exchanged pleasantries with his predecessor and Leader of Opposition K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

Before the start of the proceedings on the first day of the winter session, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy personally went to K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) to greet him and shook his hand.

The Chief Minister enquired about the well-being of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief.

This comes amid the recent bitter war of words between the two leaders over the issues related to irrigation projects and river water sharing.

Making a rare appearance in the Assembly, KCR arrived and took his seat even before all the other members.

As soon as Chief Minister Revanth Reddy entered the Assembly hall, he went to KCR and shook his hand.

After the Chief Minister, several ministers and MLAs also went to KCR and shook his hand.

Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy, Sridhar Babu, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Seethakka, Vakiti Srihari, Adluri Lakshman Kumar and others met KCR.

Newly elected MLA Naveen Yadav of the Congress also met KCR and sought his blessings.

The bonhomie came amid a bitter war of words between the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

The main opposition. BRS has been accusing Revanth Reddy of using derogatory language against kCR and even wishing for his death.

While announcing his plans to launch a mass movement over the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation project on December 21, KCR had remarked that they would peel off the skin of the Congress government for betraying people.

Reacting strongly to this, CM Revanth Reddy warned KCR that his sarpanches would beat him up and hang him from a tree. He also vowed to never allow KCR or his family to return to power.

“KCR filed cases against me, had me jailed and harassed me when he was in power. God punished him; he fell and injured himself the very day I was sworn in. I don’t even need to jail him; he has imprisoned himself in his farmhouse, surrounded by my police,” Revanth Reddy said while addressing a public meeting in Narayanpet district on December 24.

KCR’s son and BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) cautioned the Chief Minister that restraint should not be mistaken for weakness.

Reacting strongly to repeated personal attacks on KCR, KTR said that as a son and as a party worker, it is impossible to remain silent. “Every day they make baseless statements—one day he talks about KCR’s injury and prays for his death, another day they say he is unfit. Watching this language, anyone would feel angry. If not for democracy, I would have reacted differently. But out of respect for the constitutional chair, I restrain myself,” he said.

He cautioned that restraint should not be mistaken for weakness. “I, too, know how to respond strongly. I grew up in Hyderabad, and I can speak forcefully in Telugu, Hindi, Urdu, and English. But I choose restraint out of respect for the office, not out of fear,” KTR said.

–IANS

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