TDP to be blamed for T-imbroglio, govt not in minority: Botsa

Transport Minister Botsa Satyanaraya on Wednesday blamed the Telugu Desam Party for the stalemate on resolving the Telangana statehood issue and also issued an open challenge to the opposition to introduce a no confidence motion in the state Assembly.

Mr Satyanarayana’s challenge came after predictions that the government’s fall may be imminent emerged in the wake of growing support to former Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy by Congress MLAs.

The Minister told media persons that those people who claim that the state government has fallen into a minority can introduce a no confidence motion in the Assembly.

Mr Satyanarayana said that instead of making ‘baseless’ claims that most of the Congress MLAs are keen to join Mr Jaganmohan Reddy’s yet-to-be-established party, the doomsday prophesiers can as well bring in a no trust motion against the government to clear their doubts.

The Minister said that there were various other issues far more important before the government than the activities of Mr Jaganmohan Reddy.

Mr Satyanarayana cited the issue of separate Telangana statehood demands as ‘very sensitive’. He said that the Centre had to tread very carefully while dealing with the issue. Consultations with all the parties is part of the government’s efforts to solve the contentious issue, he stated.

The Minister also blamed the TDP for one of the major ills facing the state, the Telangana issue and its resultant law and order problems. He pointed out that Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had made his famous December 9, 2009 statement where he said that the process of creation of Telangana had begun only after consulting all the major parties, the TDP being one of them. The TDP had later backed out from its words, leading to the current problems, the Minister said.

Mr Satyanarayana said that if the TDP agrees to the decisions taken by the Congress on the bifurcation of the state, the imbroglio will be resolved within ‘seconds’.

He said that it was time that the TDP should take a firm and concrete decision on Telangana state issue.