Congress today accused TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao of “playing politics” by offering to wind up his party.
“It’s a political statement. I do not think there is anything new in it. He has issued a statement with political connotations. He is playing politics. Why will he merge TRS with Congress?”, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed told reporters in New Delhi.
Maintaining that TRS was trying to take political advantage of the situation, Ahmed said Mr. Rao was making such an offer as he knows that the Sri Krishna Commission, which is looking into the issue of separate Telangana, is all set to submit its report in a few days.
He was reacting to the statements of Mr. Rao who had created a flutter of sorts suggesting he was ready to wind up his party if the process of creating a separate State out of Andhra Pradesh is initiated by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“I am ready to barkhas the TRS if Sonia announces Telangana State,” Mr. Rao said in Hyderabad while responding to Congress MP Sarve Satyanarayana’s suggestion at a function that Chandrasekhar Rao should merge his party with Congress once the Centre accepts the Telangana demand.
Mr. Rao also said that if Sonia takes the initiative for formation of Telangana State, she will be worshipped in that region. In the event of the Centre not accepting the Telangana demand after the Srikrishna report is submitted, he said a spirited agitation would be launched for realising the goal, he said.
Ahmed said, “Congress is not against creation of smaller States” but refused to answer whether the party supports formation of Telangana.
“The party will wait till Sri Krishna Commission report is submitted. Government will take any decision only after the report is submitted,” he said.
The Congress spokesperson also refused to answer queries about Congress MPs from the Telangana region going on a fast to press for withdrawal of police cases registered against all students.
“These are specific issues concerning the State. Party in-charge of Andhra Pradesh will respond to these,” was the repeated response of Ahmed on the issue.
Eleven Congress MPs and 20 legislators started fasting in front of the State Assembly, rejecting the appeal made by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy last night asking the Parliamentarians not to undertake the proposed fast.
Meanwhile, a senior Congress leader indicated that the report is expected to “do something good” but refused to specify what is the party’s hope from it.
The leader said that there could be a “full-time” AICC in-charge for the State in near future as the volatile situation in Andhra Pradesh needs full concentration.
Currently Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily is the party in-charge for the State.
