The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : `Real TRS' meet today

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 09, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

`Real TRS' meet today

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, MAY 8. Adding to the confusion, yet another group claiming to take up the cause of Telangana will meet here on Sunday to chalk out its programmes irrespective of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). Mechineni Kishan Rao, who was expelled from the TRS on Saturday on charges of anti-party activities, will lead this group which claimed to be the real TRS. Mr. Rao, however, dismissed the expulsion slapped on him saying the TRS president, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, had no authority to do so since the party did not have the executive or disciplinary committees to hear his case.

Apart from Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS, there are already half a dozen organisations claiming to be struggling for statehood of Telangana. The rebels of the TRS who were denied ticket to contest elections had a few days ago floated the TRS Workers Forum of which a former journalist, P. Yadagiri, was nominated chairman. The TRS candidate for the Karimnagar Assembly seat, K. Mrutyunjayam, who was identified with the forum, sprang a surprise subsequently by claiming to lead a front of three other sub-regional parties - Telangana Rashtra Party, Telangana Janata Party and Telangana Communist Party. The front launched a yatra of a few Telangana districts on Friday to create awareness among public about the way the TRS strayed from its avowed objective of fighting for statehood for Telangana under the leadership of Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao.

Ironically, the position of Mr. Mrutyunjayam and two other TRS candidates who contested on party ticket from the Choppadandi and Kamareddy Assembly constituencies -- V. Rajender Rao and M. Venugopal Goud respectively -- is steeped in confusion. They continue to be TRS candidates technically although they have been expelled from the party. Whether they would sit with the TRS group in the Assembly if they get elected is being debated.

The Telangana Janata Party has put up candidates in 27 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat, complicating things for the TRS.

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