TRS, Cong ties hit a rough patch

Andhra leader ignores PM's dinner party

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) appears to be in some doubt over the warmth of relations between the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and one of its constituents, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).

Close on the heels of statements by TRS legislators in Hyderabad that the party was soon to part ways with the Congress over the Telangana state issue, came Union Minister K Chandrashekhara Rao's early departure from Monday night's full ministerial meeting at 7, Race Course Road and his non-appearance at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's iftaar party.

According to PMO sources, Rao stayed for the first two parts of Monday's programme, that is, the first round of meetings between 7.15 pm and 8.15 pm as well as the dinner, which went on to 9.15 pm at which Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was also invited. After the dinner, Rao and Minister of State for Rural Development A Narendra, also from the TRS, left the venue, thereby giving the post-dinner session, which went on to 11 pm, a complete miss.

Rao has no portfolio and in any case, he is a senior minister so he did not speak at the meeting. But Narendra did not speak up either, though he told colleagues that he did.

The Prime Minister noticed the absence, especially when Rao failed to turn up for his iftaar party two days later despite being in town. Rao's aides said as the TRS leader was not well he could not make it to the iftaar party. Sources, however, point out that he is getting upset by a lack of any commitment shown by the Congress to the separate Telangana issue.

"The TRS was promised that after the Maharashtra elections things would work out. But we are seeing no signs of it," said a TRS leader. Rao has also not been offered any portfolio after he gave up the shipping portfolio in favour of the DMK.

The relationship between the Congress and the TRS in Andhra is in fact much worse, with local leaders from both parties openly criticising each other.

"The party is getting impatient with no action on the Telangana issue. In fact, Rao is spending more time editing propaganda videos than working out details to achieve the statehood," said another TRS leader.

The TRS has five members in the Lok Sabha. Though their exit will not affect the UPA government as such, but it would certainly make a dent on it.