NEW DELHI: The Andhra Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured clearance from the party's central leadership to launch an agitation for separate Telangana. The green signal for an agitation was given by the party at its national executive in Dehradun.

The agitation programme will be drawn up after the organisational elections in the State unit are wrapped up by October-end, BJP's national secretary Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters here on Sunday. He said the BJP would not tie up with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) because it was yet to break ties with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

The TRS may have withdrawn its members from the Union Council of Ministers, but is yet to pull out of the UPA, Mr. Dattatreya pointed out. "This shows that they are still hopeful of a change of heart within the Congress.

The TRS is confused and people have lost confidence in its leadership," he added.

Also, the BJP leader alleged that the Congress Government in the State would make an attempt to paper over the neglect of Telangana by offering more berths to legislators from the region in the next Cabinet reshuffle. The State unit would also launch a movement to generate awareness about the Government's "land grabbing activities," he said.

Between September 18 and 20, the BJP Dalit Morcha under Bangaru Lakshman would take out a motorcycle rally in Gangareddy and Medak districts -- covering 80 villages -- to mobilise opinion on the "Government-land mafia links."

"The State Government is grabbing land from poor farmers and protecting the interests of the big farmers, industrialists and Congressmen,'' Mr. Dattatreya said.

`Table Bill'

HYDERABAD: The State BJP dared the Congress to introduce a Bill in Parliament on Telangana if it is `sincere on the issue'.

State unit president N. Indrasena Reddy told reporters here on Sunday that BJP national president Rajnath Singh had made it clear at the executive meeting that BJP would support the Bill.

Mr. Singh charged the Congress with betraying the trust of people after having promised to bifurcate the State before the 2004 Assembly elections, while aligning with the TRS, Mr. Reddy pointed out.

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