Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's efforts to unite regional parties for bringing about a "qualitative change in governance" in the country received a boost with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav voicing support for his move.
Hitting out at the BJP, Yadav, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister praised Rao's efforts and said only the regional parties could "stop" the saffron party which has "not fulfilled" its promises in the past four years of its rule.
Rao said the platform being proposed by him is not a mere forum of political parties.""
"This is not a third front, fourth front or fifth front. My appeal to journalists is not to give it the name of a front," he said at a joint press conference with Yadav.
"I have been saying from the beginning that it is not a forum of political parties. This is a major effort to unite India's farmers and Indian people towards a new direction," he said.
Rao said the agenda would be prepared in the coming months for the proposed coalition in consultation with others.
The chief minister said the coalition being proposed by him would have an open mind and does not treat anybody as an untouchable.
"Ultimately, the driving force of our alliance will be the agenda, which we are going to propose, which is for the betterment of the nation. Anybody can join that.
We don't declare anybody as untouchable. We will keep our options open," he said.
Rao said they would come out with an agenda in another one or two months.
""" "... We have to take along all those who come with us. One party or one person cannot prepare agenda for such a big country. Consensus has to be arrived at. This is just a beginning," he said.
"" Yadav, who flew down to Hyderabad in the afternoon, held extensive talks with Rao.
The SP chief said talks would be held further and meetings would also take place as elections approach.
"We said this is not a political platform. This is the beginning of bringing together progressive people," he said.
The Central governments in the past and also the present BJP government have disappointed people a lot, he alleged.
The country has not achieved progress as it should have in comparison with other countries, Yadav said.
"This is a good effort. I think Samajwadi Party supports his (Rao's) work and we will take this work further...," he said
Praising Rao's efforts to bring together all regional parties, Yadav said "I have said on many occasions and I say again today in front of you.
If anybody can stop the country's BJP government, it is the regional parties, the regional leaders who can stop the BJP in the time to come."
Alleging that the BJP has not fulfilled the promises it made, Yadav asked "how will it do so in the short time left of its tenure."
As part of his plans to forge a non-Congress, non-BJP alternative at the Centre, Rao had met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, former Prime Minister and JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and the party's working president M K Stalin in recent months.
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