The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Venkataswamy calls for regional leaders' meet

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 11, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Venkataswamy calls for regional leaders' meet

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUPATI, AUG. 10. G. Venkataswamy, Congress MP, has favoured a summit of leaders and intellectuals from the three regions of Telangana, Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra to arrive at a consensus on division of the State. The proposal was intended to clear the confusion over the nagging issue, he said.

Mr. Venkataswamy, who arrived here on a two-day pilgrimage on Tuesday, spoke to mediapersons at the airport. "A meeting of leaders from the three regions can decide on bifurcation or trifurcation of the State," he said.

Attention needed

Maintaining that the AICC president, Sonia Gandhi, and the CWC only could take the ultimate decision, he denied knowledge of what transpired at the meeting Ms. Gandhi had with the TRS president, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, which was the source of all the contentious claims. Claiming that it was he who introduced the TRS leader to Ms. Gandhi, Mr. Venkataswamy said he had drafted the seat-sharing ratio as 35 and four, which later became 42 and six following bargaining by the TRS.

Maintaining that Telangana was not a small issue and it needed due attention, the Peddapalli MP said that unemployment and poverty levels had gone up due to the continued neglect by successive governments. He also referred to naxalites' demand for statehood for Telangana that indicated that "all is not well in the region.''

The APCC legal cell convenor, M. Satyavanthudu, was among the leaders who received him at the airport.

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