New Delhi: The Union government on Thursday, April 28, refuted claims that Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) was told to stay away from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s events in state capital Hyderabad in February. Referring to the prime minister’s inauguration of the Rs 1,000 crore ‘Statue of Equality’ in Hyderabad in February, Telangana commerce minister K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) had reportedly alleged that KCR did not attend the event or receive the prime minister upon his arrival because he had been told by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) not to do so, the Hindustan Times reported.Responding to the allegations, Union minister of state Jitendra Singh tweeted saying KTR’s claim was “patently untrue”.Infact, the CM of Telangana was expected at the events on 5th February when PM visited Hyderabad. It was the CM’s office which informed the PMO that the CM was not feeling well and hence would not be attending. 2/2— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) April 28, 2022“It was the CM’s office which informed the PMO that the CM was not feeling well and hence would not be attending,” Singh’s tweet read.Also read: Modi’s India Does Have Public Funding for Arts. But It’s All Going to Massive StatuesBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Telangana president Bandi Sanjay also reportedly denied KTR’s allegations. “It is a blatant lie. We strongly condemn the comments made by the father and the son (KCR and KTR) to insult [the] Prime Minister’s Office and Narendra Modi,” news agency PTI quoted Sanjay as saying on Thursday. KCR’s failure to attend Modi’s unveiling of the Statue of Equality, a 66-metre tall statue of 11th-century saint Ramanujacharya, was reportedly the second time the chief minister was absent from an event where Modi appeared in the state.KCR was not in attendance when the prime minister visited Bharat Biotech’s COVID vaccine facility in Hyderabad in November last year.(With PTI inputs)