Blaming the ruling Congress for the “uncertainty” in the State, Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu hit out at TRS and others for targeting his party and pointed out that it was for the Centre to decide on statehood for Telangana.
Inaugurating the party's annual conference, ‘Mahanadu' at ‘Telugu Vijayam', in Gandipet, near here on Friday, Mr. Naidu said the Telugu Desam had already sent its opinion to the UPA sub-committee headed by Pranab Mukherjee. But it was the Centre that had kept its decision in abeyance after announcing on December 9, 2009 that it had set in motion the process of creating Telangana.
Subsequently, it had constituted the Justice Srikrishna Committee. As the party in power, it was the responsibility of the Congress to solve the problem. Referring to the close association of the TRS with the Congress in the past, he said it would ultimately be merged in the ruling party. Both these parties were now out to harm the Telugu Desam.
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He wondered why the TDP could not hold meetings on Telangana under the party flag just like the TRS, BJP, and Congress were doing. Lashing out at other parties for not questioning Congress on the issue, he accused it of playing with the lives of Telangana people and the future of the State. He asserted that nobody could bury TDP in Telangana as long as it had affection of the people.
Expressing condolences to the families of the students who committed suicide in Telangana and Coastal Andhra, he said it was a sensitive issue and he could not be expected to talk favouring one region. He was keen to protect the party in both the regions.
Mr. Naidu dared the YSR Congress to topple the Kiran Kumar Reddy regime by making Congress MLAs loyal to it to withdraw support to the government.
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No-confidence
He wanted its leadership to meet the Governor and give a letter withdrawing support. In such an eventuality, the TDP would back a motion of no-confidence, he added.