We can't take this any more," declared Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief and Union Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao today, as he came out of a meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Rao told reporters that the time had come for him to decide whether to continue in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). |
Rao has been complaining about the conduct of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, especially for his anti-Telangana views. He said, "That's why we feel that the time has come for us either to form Telangana or start an agitation by leaving the UPA." |
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Rao, whose party has five members in the Lok Sabha and has been spearheading a campaign for a separate Telangana state, has been irked by Reddy's speech at the NIC meeting yesterday. Reddy said he opposed the creation of smaller states. In response, Rao submitted a memorandum to Gandhi, urging her to instruct the Andhra Pradesh government to lift the ban on Maoists. |
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Asked whether he was disappointed that no significant progress had been made towards the formation of Telangana, he said, "Hope and despair is not the issue. We have to take a diplomatic decision. Some people agree and some don't. We have to take those not agreeing to it along with us. By evolving consensus, we have to move forward." |
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Reddy had remarked that the demand for a separate Telangana state was gradually waning because of the development schemes initiated by his government. Rao said the chief minister was now contravening the stand taken by him when an understanding had been brokered by the Congress central leadership in July. |
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"The chief minister had campaigned in the elections wearing our rose-coloured cloth. Moreover, he had agreed to leave the issue of Telangana to Gandhi when we reached an agreement. It is not the Telangana demand but Reddy who will be out of sight," he said. |
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Saying that the chief minister's attitude had been difficult for him to accept, Rao said he would meet Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and discuss whether he should to continue in the UPA. |
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On the Naxal issue, Rao said that three decades of experience had shown that bullets""whether used by Maoists or the government""were not a solution to the problem. |
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"Even the Punjab problem was solved by taking people into confidence. Talks are now held with NSCN leaders to solve the Naga issue. In neighbouring Sri Lanka, the government has asked the LTTE to come for talks even after the assassination of the foreign minister. This shows that dialogue is the only solution," the TRS leader said. |
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Rao also said after the reimposition of the ban on Naxals, the police had unleashed a reign of terror in Andhra villages. He demanded that the ban be lifted and talks resumed. |
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