The Hindu : Front Page : Goud stops short of announcing party

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Sunday, Jun 29, 2008
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Goud stops short of announcing party

Special Correspondent

— Photo: Satish. H

THINKING ALIKE: Former TDP leader T. Devender Goud (left) hugs Telangana ideologue T. Jayashankar in Hyderabad on Saturday.

HYDERABAD: Amidst a strident demand for a coordinated approach with other parties in the struggle to secure statehood for Telangana, former leader of Telugu Desam T. Devender Goud on Saturday kept the cards close to his chest about his plans on leading the separate Telangana movement.

At a meeting with intellectuals and supporters of Telangana here, Mr. Goud avoided any reference to his plans to start a new political party but invited suggestions on the next step he should take to strengthen the movement. Nonetheless, he raised the pitch of his voice on a few occasions to stress the need to build a ‘Praja Telangana’ and a ‘nava (new) Telangana’, leaving people to speculate whether he might announce the party with similar names. Leaders close to him, however, confided privately that a decision on the party would be taken in a couple of days

Unlike at the press conference following his resignation from TDP on Monday, Mr. Goud targeted Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu holding him equally responsible for the backwardness of Telangana as Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. It was expected of them as both belonged to Rayalaseema, he remarked.

Mr. Goud said he took on Mr. Naidu on issues confronting Telangana knowing fully well the consequences.

He said he was pained that his colleagues in TDP used him as a pawn to project the problems of Telangana before Mr. Naidu. He had to ultimately quit the party as he found no solution.

Earlier, Telangana protagonist K. Jayashanker and others, including former Justice Sardar Ali Khan, appealed to Mr. Naidu to join hands with other political forces in waging a combined struggle for Telangana.

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