The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Come clean on Telangana, BJP tells TRS

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 12, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Come clean on Telangana, BJP tells TRS

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JULY 11. The senior BJP leaders, B. Dattatreya and K. Laxman, on Sunday asked the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to first clarify its stand on Telangana in the light of the Congress' position that the issue would be decided by the second States' re-organisation committee.

The leaders were reacting to the remarks made by the Union Minister, A. Narendra, that the BJP lacked clarity on Telangana because of the `dominance' of coastal Andhra leaders in the party, at a press conference here. They said statements made by the TRS leaders varied while there was complete unanimity in the Congress on the second SRC. They wanted the TRS leaders, who promised that a separate State would be formed within six months, to first clarify their party's stand.

The BJP leaders also criticised the TRS for supporting the resolution to revive the Legislative Council and its silence on the move to set up regional development boards.

Taking exception to Mr. Narendra's comments, the BJP leaders advised him to instead use his good offices with the former Prime Minister, H. D. Deve Gowda, in making Karnataka release water from Alamatti to tide over the crisis in Krishna basin.

Mr. Dattatreya, who had recently made an on-the-spot study of the situation in ayacut under Nagarjunasagar and Krishna delta, accused the State Government of being indifferent to the plight of farmers and warned that the BJP would launch an agitation if the same attitude continued.

He reiterated that the Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, should immediately take up with Karnataka the need for releasing 30 tmcft of water from Alamatti.

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