Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani said on Wednesday a separate Telangana State could become a reality by January 1, 2012 if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi took a firm decision and introduced a Bill in the winter session of Parliament.
Mr. Advani said the BJP would extend its full support if the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government introduced the Bill for the formation of Telangana. The process of its formation could be completed before the end of the winter session itself, he said.
Speaking at a press conference in Nizamabad, 140 km from here, and addressing road-shows in Karimnagar and Medak districts as part of his Jan Chetana Yatra, Mr. Advani said there was no need for the passage of a fresh resolution in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on carving out a new State.
“Formation of a new State is the total responsibility of Parliament under Article 3 of the Constitution. As Home Minister in the NDA government, I initiated the process of forming three new States after the relevant Bill was passed in Parliament. In respect of two of these States, I had to ask for Assembly resolutions as their Chief Ministers were opposed to the division and NDA constituents were not in power there. So, I asked them to consult the entire political set-up in their States.”
Appealing to youth and students of Telangana not to commit suicide, Mr. Advani said he had never seen a situation where so many youths sacrificed their lives for the realisation of their demand.
People feel deceived
Coming down heavily on the UPA-II government, Mr. Advani said that in the last two years it was paralysed by indecisiveness and had become dysfunctional. It changed its stand on formation of Telangana within 15 days of making an announcement in both Houses of Parliament, something unparalleled in the 60 years of independent India's history. People were now expressing their anger against the government for deceiving them, he said.
