The Hindu : Front Page : Telangana leader begins hunger strike

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Thursday, Aug 24, 2006

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Telangana leader begins hunger strike

Special Correspondent

Somnath appeals to Chandrasekhara Rao to end hunger strike

NEW DELHI: A day after pulling out of the United Progressive Alliance, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) got into the agitation mode with its MPs forcing an adjournment of the Lok Sabha and its president K. Chandrasekhara Rao going on a hunger-strike on the issue of a separate State.

As soon as the House assembled on Wednesday, the party MPs stormed the well of the House, demanding the creation of a separate Telangana. With the Bharatiya Janata Party lending support, four TRS members raised slogans and said the Government had gone back on its promise made in the common minimum programme.

House adjourned

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee appealed to the TRS chief to withdraw his fast and said the entire House joined him in the plea. He requested the TRS members to return to their seats, stating they would be permitted to raise the issue after question hour. However when the MPs stuck to their position, Mr. Chatterjee adjourned the House till noon.

Turning up at the Jantar Mantar venue, where Mr. Rao along with scores of supporters began the hunger strike, the former Prime Minister, V.P. Singh, spoke in favour of formation of a Telangana.

On the other hand, the Congress refuted Mr. Rao's "betrayal" charge and said the process of consultation and consensus on a separate State would continue.

"We have not been able to resolve the issue because it is complex... process of consultation and consensus building would continue, it was not TRS-specific... '' said Pranab Mukheree, Defence Minister and convener of the UPA Committee on Telangana.

He said there was no consensus among the UPA and supporting parties, with the Left reiterating its opposition to a separate State.

As for the BJP, Mr. Mukherjee said that when it was in power, the then Home Minister L.K. Advani wrote to the Congress stating there was no plan to form States other than what the NDA Government had created.

Mr. Mukherjee said that while entering into a poll pact with the Congress, TRS leader A. Narendra signed a document endorsing the setting up of a second State Reorganisation Commission to go into the issue.

The Congress was willing to give up its insistence on a second SRC provided a consensus emerged.

BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu alleged that the Congress had a history of "betrayal." He said the BJP categorically supported the formation of Telangana.

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