On the eve of an all-party meeting on Telangana, TRS chief K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday said the Centre should follow its announcement on creation of a separate state with a resolution in Parliament but set no deadline for it.
Mr. Rao, who met CPI general secretary A. B. Bardhan here, said the Constitutional process should be set in motion for carving out Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh.
“The Government of India has announced its policy on Telangana. It should follow it up with Constitutional process. A resolution should be moved in Parliament,” the TRS leader told reporters after meeting Mr. Bardhan.
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To a question on time-frame, he said 15 states had been created since Independence and that formation of Telangana would take the same time as other states did.
Asked whether he would set any deadline, Mr. Rao said, “People of Telangana have waited for 55 years, we can wait for another 15 days.”
Mr. Rao said he would answer all such questions after Tuesday’s meeting.
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On his meeting with Mr. Bardhan, the TRS chief said he had come to seek his “blessings” and his views on Telangana.
“CPI is among the first parties which supported the cause of Telangana. When I was on deathbed Mr. Bardhan spoke to the Prime Minister and asked him to intervene in the issue and save my life,” Mr. Rao said.
Supporting Mr. Rao’s demand, Mr. Bardhan said the Centre should deliver on its promise.
Mr. Bardhan disfavoured constitution of second State Reorganisation Commission to decide on demands for new states.
On more demands for separate states, the CPI leader said Telangana’s case is 50-year-old and cannot be compared with others.
To a specific question on demand for Gorkhaland state, he sarcastically said, “Gorkhaland is only one district and if government wants to give state status to one district, let them do it.”