Union parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday slammed Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhara Rao for dubbing as ‘fascist’ the Centre’s directives on special powers related to law and order in Hyderabad vested in Governor, and demanded immediate withdrawal of his comments.
Stating that he was ‘amazed’ by Rao’s ‘new definition of fascism’, Naidu said the dictionary meaning of ‘fascism’ is that it’s a political theory advocating an authoritarian government, adding that fascism is exact opposite of democracy wherein laws and rules are made by elected legislatures. ‘KCR (K Chandrasekhara Rao) describing PM Narendra Modi as ‘fascist’ is highly condemnable and I demand that he withdraw his ill-considered comments,’ the union minister told a press conference here. Naidu’s comments came a day after the Telangana government refused to ‘honour or implement’ the union home ministry’s directives ‘in any circumstances’, with Rao last night seeking that it be rescinded.