The Hindu : Naidu sees no threat from separatist plank

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 08, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Naidu sees no threat from separatist plank

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MARCH 7. The Telugu Desam Party will not seek to cash in on the likely backlash in Andhra region against the separate Telangana plank of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)-Congress combine but will win the elections on the twin issues of Telugu pride and development.

The Telugu Deasm party president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, feels that there is a strong feeling among people that they would suffer if the State was bifurcated. Also, his "concerted effort'' to develop the State in the last nine years would yield electoral dividends for the TDP, he told mediapersons here today.

He attached no political importance to the poor turnout at a meeting held in Visakhapatnam on Saturday to garner support for an integrated State. He said the question whether the TDP was associated with the meeting was irrelevant as it had all along favoured the cause of integration and was doing everything for the development of backward areas.

On the other hand, the Congress and the TRS were "confused'' and "desperate'' as was evident from their squabbling over accepting the report of the First States' Reorganisation Commission (SRC) and demand for setting up of a second. He also dismissed as inconsequential reports that several State BJP leaders were supporting the separate Telangana cause since the Telugu Desam would only go by the NDA agenda which made no mention of smaller States.

At the national level too, the TDP expected the BJP to abide by the NDA agenda on the issue of building a Ram temple at Ayodhya. Making it clear that his party would make no compromise on secularism, he said the BJP's vision document, which would incorporate contentious issues like Ayodhya, was its internal affair and had nothing to do with the NDA agenda.

Mr. Naidu said he strongly felt that coalition Governments had come to stay at the Centre and they had no option other than implementing the development agenda. The question of BJP gaining a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha, either now or in the future, and implementing its Hindutva agenda did not, therefore, arise.

The real issues before people were the "good governance'' of the NDA Government and Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin. The TDP president said he did not propose to take up this issue with the BJP leadership as he saw little scope for violating the NDA agenda. "Once the development agenda gets people's support, everyone will become secular," he added.

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