Congress MP from Vijayawada Lagadapati Rajagopal has asked TDP president Chandrababu Naidu to “stop deceiving” people of the State in the name of ‘Atma Gaurav Yatra’, which he proposes to launch from Pondugula of Gurajala constituency in Guntur district from September 1.
In an open letter addressed to the TDP president, Mr. Lagadapati recounted the several occasions in the past when Mr. Naidu had expressed his support for the creation of separate Telangana and said the latter must instead, do some soul-searching and arrive at a ‘wise’ and ‘fair’ decision on the Telangana issue.
The MP recalled that in May 2008 by-elections, necessitated following resignations by four MPs and 16 MLAs of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the latter lost in more than half the seats, while in the remaining segments, it had won only by a thin majority. Even the party president, K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), had won by a slender margin of 15,000 votes.
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The election result was considered a referendum on Telangana and just when people began to rejoice over their victory over ‘separatist forces’, the TDP Polit Bureau passed a resolution supporting separate Telangana.
Mr. Lagadapati then cited the general elections held in April 2009 where the TDP, despite an alliance with the TRS, could wrest fewer seats than the Congress.
People of the State once again hoped that the TDP would learn its lessons and withdraw support to the TRS demand for bifurcation of the State, but in vain.
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Even in the all-party meeting called by the Chief Minister on Telangana, Mr. Lagadapati said that the TDP chief reiterated his support for a separate State.
Accusing Mr. Naidu of betraying people of the State over and over again, the MP said he should stop cheating people, listen to his heart’s voice and take a fair stand on Telangana.