The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Congress leaders boycott TRS meeting

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 12, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Congress leaders boycott TRS meeting

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, DEC.11. Congress leaders cold-shouldered the Telangana Rashtra Samiti for its propaganda on Telangana and their first move in this direction was to boycott the public meeting at the Parade Grounds on Saturday.

Several reasons are being cited by them for this hardened stand. The immediate provocation could be keeping the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, out of the list of invitees for the meeting as well as the `bhoomi puja' of the Telangana Building.

The APCC president, K. Keshava Rao, was categorical in his protest, and said it was highly improper on the part of the TRS leadership to exclude Dr. Reddy, who had given the TRS the land for the building.

The Three others who were invited-- G. Venkat Swamy, deputy leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha, D. Vittal Rao, convenor of the AP Congress MPs, and G. Chinna Reddy, convenor of the Telangana Regional Congress Coordination Committee-- too opted out despite repeated calls from TRS leaders.

AICC denies permission

The Cabinet Minister, N. Narasimha Reddy (TRS), who tried to woo Dr. Keshava Rao to the meeting, was given a dressing-down by the latter at the APCC headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan.

"If Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy is treated as an outsider and left out, how did they invite people like Shibu Soren who also don't belong to Telangana" Dr. Keshava Rao asked. Mr. Vittal Rao clarified that a request for permission to attend the meet was turned down by the high command. This had sent the signal to the Congress leaders that the TRS could be ignored.

Meanwhile, the AICC is reported to be unhappy over the TRS campaign that separate Telangana would be formed in a matter of days. It also has taken a serious note of the TRS stand that it will seek BJP support for the cause, if the Congress fails to deliver the goods.

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