Rao begins hunger strike over Telengana

 Charging the Congress with being opportunistic, Rao said Sonia Gandhi campaigned during the assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh wearing a pink dupatta (TRS colours), but once the party won two-thirds majority, it ignored its allies.

 "It is a matter of fulfilling promises. It doesn't matter even if I lose my life. We will continue to fight for a separate Telangana," Rao said.

 "I have begun an indefinite fast here and Telangana is burning with people organising rasta rokos and protest marches across the region," he claimed.

Telangana abounds with natural resources which rightfully belong to the people of the region, he said. "We were forced to go with Andhra Pradesh during the reorganisation of states," Rao added. 

Tthe BJP accused the Congress-led UPA of betrayal over the Telangana issue and rejected suggestions for creation of a second state reorganisation commission to decide the matter. The Congress is offering only a states reorganisation commission to the TRS. It has openly said it does not support the demand for a separate state. "A state reorganisation commission is created for the entire country. This proposal is just an excuse and nothing more than that and we reject it," BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said.