BJP today asked Congress, which is divided on the issue of Telangana, to first gets its own house in order even as it alleged that the ruling party lacks seriousness, commitment and clarity on the matter.
"Congress is treating the Telangana issue as its internal party matter. It is not serious about the issue, is behaving in an irresponsible and immature manner and is driven by short-term gains. There is neither commitment nor clarity in Congress on the issue," senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here.
He charged that even the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and central ministers from the state are speaking in different voices on the Telangana issue, which shows "there is no unity in the ruling party on the matter".
"Congress should first explain the conduct of its own ministers. There is no government in Andhra Pradesh. It has collapsed and there is talk of imposing President's Rule. Who created this fear... You first bring your own house in order," Naidu said.
He pointed out that the Telangana issue did not come up overnight and Congress has been talking about it since 2004.
"This issue has been pending for years. It was mentioned in the 2004 election manifesto of Congress. Then Congress and TRS joined hands and benefitted in the elections due to this issue. It was mentioned in the President's Address after 2009 polls. The then Home Minister P Chidambaram spoke about it on December 9, 2009 in Parliament," Naidu said.
He asked Congress what it has done on Telangana in the last nine and half years starting from 2004.
Naidu said Congress made the declaration on formation of Telangana on July 30 but has "not moved an inch" since then.
Claiming that more than 900 people had committed suicide in Telangana region on the issue, he said now suicides have started in Seemandhra region also.
He also demanded the contents of Pranab Mukherjee, K Rosaiah, and Sri Krishna committee reports be made public.
"Congress should not indulge in double-speak... The state has to be divided and not the people," he said.
