Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao came together for the traditional 'At Home' function hosted by the Governor of the two states ESL Narasimhan at the Raj Bhavan here today evening.
Though there were no bear hugs or cracking of jokes, like they did on a previous occasion, Naidu and Rao just exchanged pleasantries and chatted very briefly, apparently in a sombre mood, while the Governor went around the Raj Bhavan lawns greeting other guests.
The meeting of the Chief Ministers - only the fourth since the bifurcation of the state in last June - happened only because it was a customary occasion and, as things stand between the two states, there is clearly no love lost between the two arch rivals.
"Republic Day was celebrated happily in the two states. All are happy and everything is fine," Narasimhan told curious reporters as he led the two Chief Ministers back into the Durbar Hall.
Neither the Governor nor the Chief Ministers were willing to reveal what transpired during their brief chat. They were later closeted in another brief meeting inside the Durbar Hall, but no details emerged.
The Telangana Chief Minister arrived at least 15 minutes behind schedule for the At Home and kept both the Governor and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart waiting.
A host of leaders from Telangana made it to the event, while only Assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao and two ministers, B Gopalakrishna Reddy and K Atchannaidu attended from Andhra Pradesh.
While the Leader of Opposition in the Telangana Assembly K Jana Reddy was seated beside the Chief Minister, the Andhra Pradesh Opposition Leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy was conspicuous by his absence.
The Governor congratulated badminton player PV Sindhu, who was chosen for the Padma Shri award this year. Her coach Pullela Gopichand introduced her to the Governor and the First Lady Vimala Narasimhan.
Chief Secretaries of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, IYR Krishna Rao and Rajiv Sharma, and a host of senior bureaucrats attended the function.
