The Hindu : BJP to keep aside Telangana issue: Mahajan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 11, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

BJP to keep aside Telangana issue: Mahajan

HYDERABAD, JAN. 10. The Bharatiya Janata Party's national leadership has categorically ruled out the question of entertaining the demand for a separate Telangana for the present since there is no political consensus on it in Andhra Pradesh.

In the case of Vidarbha, too, the party has kept aside its commitment for separate statehood since its ally, the Shiv Sena, has opposed it, the BJP general secretary, Pramod Mahajan, said here today.

Participating in a `Meet-the-press' programme organised by the A. P. Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ), he said: "The Telugu Desam Party here is opposed to separate statehood for Telangana. Since the BJP will be fighting the upcoming elections in alliance with the TDP, we have decided to sideline the issue."

The BJP leader said it was true that the BJP's State unit had adopted a unanimous resolution at Kakinada supporting the cause of Telangana as the Maharashtra unit had done in respect of Vidharbha since the party was in favour of smaller States.

But, the situation now was different from what obtained before the creation of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal which were created on the unanimous recommendation of the Legislative Assemblies of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh respectively. Such a consensus was missing now.

Mr. Mahajan strongly denied reports that he had discussed the possibility of a poll alliance with the leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), K. Chandrasekhar Rao. As for an alliance with the party led by the former UP Chief Minister, Kalyan Singh, he said no such proposal had been made either by the BJP or the Rashtriya Kranti Party. In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP would continue its alliance with the TDP but he could not discuss publicly the number of seats his party would contest.

The APUWJ president, D. Amar, welcomed the gathering and the secretary- general of the Indian Journalists' Union (IJU) moderated the question-answer session.

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Andhra Pradesh