Dy. Speaker props up Telangana issue again

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, APRIL 6.A meeting of Telangana leaders from different political parties called by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. K. Chandrasekhara Rao, on Thursday gave rise to speculation that he might quit his post.

The Deputy Speaker reportedly conveyed his plans to step down and plunge wholeheartedly in a campaign for a separate Telangana to the leaders when some of them conveyed their dismay to him for lying low after convening a series of meetings earlier to mobilise support for fighting against the injustice done to the region.

Sources said a plan of action was chalked out at the four-hour- long meeting to educate people in Telangana about the injustice done to them. Some of the leaders suggested constituting a loosely-knit political organisation like the Telangana Praja Samiti (TPS) and fighting the scheduled local body elections under its flag. Still others, particularly those from the Congress (I), wanted the Telangana MLAs to sit as a separate block in the Assembly.

The meeting created a mild stir in political circles because three Congress (I) MLAs, Messrs J. Ratnakar Rao, Satyanarayana Goud and D. Sridhar Babu, and two BJP legislators, Messrs D. L. Ravindranath Reddy, and Ramakrishna Reddy, were among those who participated. Others who attended were the former Minister, Mr M. Baga Reddy, former CLP Secretary, Mr M. Kodanda Reddy, and a BJP functionary, Mr. Mechineni Kishan Rao, besides some Communist leaders.

The Telugu Desam Party chose to maintain a studied silence over the meeting with its spokesman, Mr. R. Chandrasekhara Reddy, claiming that it did not figure at the teleconference of the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, with his Ministers. He said the party had not responded even to earlier pro-Telangana activities by Mr. Rao.

However, the BJP leadership did not take kindly to its MLAs hobnobbing with those of the Congress (I) but the legislators took the stand that they had responded to an invitation for the Deputy Speaker's house-warming ceremony. Its spokesman, Mr. G. Kishan Reddy, said the BJP would abide by the decision of its Central leadership against endorsing the separate Telangana demand until the Assembly adopted a resolution.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kodanda Reddy said various issues including the wholly unjustified sale of properties (Nizam Sugar Factory, Azamjahi Mills, Allwyn factory), suicide by farmers, Government's deliberate neglect of Centrally-approved projects like SLBC, SRSP Flow Flow Canal and the Krishna water supply scheme to Hyderabad and suicide by weavers were discussed at the meeting. He indicated that a full-fledged office would be established at Jaladrusyam belonging to Mr. Konda Lakshman Bapuji in Hyderabad.

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Section  : Southern States
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