Commenting on the negative reaction of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on clearance of Telangana Bill by the cabinet, Congress leader V. Hanumantha Rao on Saturday said that Reddy was playing a game and taking advantage of the situation.
"The UPA government had promised from the beginning that they were going to clear the Telangana Bill, and at that time nobody objected, but now they are all objecting," said Rao.
"The prime minster himself had promised to resolve this issue and clear the bill. The CM is giving wrong statements now. He had earlier said that the bill was not in his hand but in Congress President Sonia Gandhi's, and that he would support her in whatever decision she would take," he said.
"He had left everything upto her, and today he is unnecessary is blaming her and the PM. He is taking advantage of the situation. We have had many meetings to discuss this issue before, but at that time nobody raised their voice," he added.
He further said that parties should support the bill on humanitarian grounds as people had given up their lives for the cause.
"People can understand how they are playing a game. They know and watch everything and are well aware of the situation. It is oldest issue here and people have been fighting for it for the last 60 years," said Rao.
"I am appealing to all the parties to support it on humanitarian grounds, as many youths have given up their lives for it," he added.
The cabinet passed the Telangana Bill which will bifurcate Andhra Pradesh for the creation of a separate Telangana state, during a special meeting of the cabinet on Friday.
"We are very grateful to the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for having approved the Telangana Bill," said D Srinivas, former Andhra Pradesh Congress chief.
"There were speculations that it would not be passed but the prime minster passed it against all the odds. I congratulate him and his team for taking a judicious and respectable decision to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Telangana who have been demanding it for more than five decades. It is a historic day," he said.
