Corner Centre to get T state: Kodandaram to Cong MPs

Telangana Political Joint Action Committee convenor Kodandaram on Friday said that the fate of the United Progressive Alliance Government now hinges on the Congress MPs from Telangana who can use the leverage to make the Centre buckle down and agree to carving out a separate Telangana state.

Telangana MPs must now corner the Centre and resign so that the UPA government is reduced to a minority, Prof Kodandaram said, especially after Seemandhra MPs had made their stand clear to Congress Core Committee member Pranab Mukherjee that there were opposed to bifurcation of the state.

The separate statehood protagonist said that the Congress MPs from Telangana now can push the Centre in a corner and get it to agree to the carving of a separate state by threatening to resign.

Prof Kodandaram was talking to media persons after starting a relay hunger fast at Kukatpally village in the city. The relay hunger fasts began across the region after the views of the Seemandhra MPs became clear at their meeting with Mr Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Thursday evening.

Prof Kodandaram said that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi would join those leaders who voluntarily come for the cause of Telangana state. He also clarified that the TRS has no objection to working with like-minded parties for the separate state formation. 

Prof Kodandaram also asked the Telugu Desam party to make its stand clear on the Telangana issue before the second all-party conclave which is tentatively scheduled to be to be held in New Delhi on January 24.

He said the Telangana leaders across the region would observe relay hunger fasts to mount pressure on Centre to introduce a separate Telangana Bill in the Budget Session of Parliament.