The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Telangana: Naidu not convinced

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 13, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Telangana: Naidu not convinced

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, APRIL 12. The Telugu Desam Party president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Monday brushed aside the statement of N. Indrasena Reddy, State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, that he would try and `convince' the TDP over the issue of a separate Telangana.

When a pressperson referred to the BJP statement, he shot it down without mincing words. "I have spoken to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on the matter. After speaking to the number one leader of the party, a reaction from anyone else can only be secondary," he said, preferring to say nothing more on the matter.

Dwelling on the need for all concerned to step up voter awareness campaigns, Mr. Naidu said that 19 days of drilling had seen an attitudinal change in the outlook of voters. Still, there were hardliners, people who were stubborn enough not to be influenced by anyone. He regretted that more people today were only talking of `rights' and conveniently giving the go-by to their duties and responsibilities. In a democracy, there should be a public debate on the people's preoccupation about their rights. If it was the responsibility of parents to nurture children into making them adults, it was the responsibility of the Government and the political parties to ensure that the adults became good citizens, he said. Mr. Chandrababu Naidu attacked the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, saying they were a confused lot now. In their desperation, they were unsure of how they could set things right in their own parties and, instead, satisfying their egos by slinging mud on the TDP and its electoral ally, the BJP, he said.

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