Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K. Chandrasekhar Rao defended family rule in politics if the members were articulate, talented and oriented to serve the public.
Rejecting criticism against him that he was promoting family rule in the TRS, Mr. Rao asked at a press conference on Sunday whether it was not true that his son, daughter, nephew and himself had gone to jail for the sake of gaining statehood for Telangana. His daughter took part in a ‘rail roko’ agitation and was sent to jail only to be released in the middle of the night.
To contest from Gajwel Mr. Rao said he will contest from Gajwel Assembly constituency in addition to a Parliament seat which he was yet to identify. He will launch his election campaign effectively from April 11 in Karimnagar, though he might visit some places before that.
He said the foundation day of the TRS next month, which was close to the poll date, i.e. April 30, could be postponed due to the tight schedule in the thick of electioneering. There was no space for nine Telugu Desam MLAs who evinced interest in joining TRS.
Mr. Rao released an open letter to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan seeking to keep in abeyance the tail-pond project of Dummugudem till a new government was installed in Telangana.
He said TRS would disclose the report of the former Lokayukta who recommend action against then Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Laxmaiah for proposing the project.
He appealed to the Governor to introduce lessons on Telangana in the school curriculum.
24-hour power to ryots
Addressing a party meeting later, Mr. Rao said the TRS was certain to form the government in Telangana and promised to supply 24 hours power to agriculture.
