HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president K. Keshava Rao said here on Monday that Telangana was not a pocket borough of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and advised it against playing with regional sentiments.

Taking exception to the language used by TRS leaders against Congressmen, he said there was no greater champion of the Telangana cause than the Congress and there was no need for it to betray people of the region.

Addressing a press conference, he said both TRS president K. Chandrasekhara Rao and his colleague A. Narendra had lowered the party's credibility by making it a personal outfit after driving away committed leaders.

People of Telangana were wise enough to see through their game and would not fall into their trap, he said. Countering Mr. Narendra's argument that the TRS would display its real strength soon, he said a party that had polled hardly 2 per cent of votes in the panchayat elections had no business to talk about the Congress which had bagged more than 62 per cent.

The TRS `begged' for seats during the Assembly elections and was allotted 42 out of respect for the Telangana sentiment.

Whatever strength it had acquired was gained at the mercy of the Congress.

Responding to the charge that the Congress had betrayed people, he said the TRS leaders had agreed to the constitution of second States Reorganisation Commission before forging an alliance with the Congress.

`Stop blaming Congress'

The Congress could not be blamed if the Left parties, the MIM, the SP and the DMK whose strength was far higher than those supporting the Telangana cause did not agree to a consensus, he observed.

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