"T- Muslims hurt by Owaisi's statement"

Congress Mps from the Telangana region have accused the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen of trying to sabotage the Telangana agitation by giving it a communal colour.

Referring to MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi's statement saying that his party would not support Telangana agitation, the Congress Mps alleged that by giving such a statement, Owaisi tried to give an impression that Muslims were against the Telangana state. However, Owaisi's statement was in total contrast to the reality, he said. "Thousands of Muslims in the region have been actively participating in the Telangana movement in both, the districts and the State capital. However, by making anti-Telangana remarks Owaisi has hurt their sentiments," Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar said while addressing a press conference here on Monday.

Ponnam claimed that the MIM was not the sole representative of Muslim community in the Telangana region. Several prominent organisations and individuals are in support of Telangana state and Owaisi's statement would be of no value either to them or the on-going Telangana agitation.

Warangal MP P Rajaiah accused the Governor ESL Narasimhan of sending wrong reports to the Centre on Telangana agitation. He said that both the State and Centre were trying to sabotage the movement by inciting violence. However, he said the Telangana activists would ensure that their agitation remains peaceful.

Nizamabad MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud said that despite being a part of the ruling party, the Congress leaders were agitating against the government on the streets. Therefore, their commitment towards Telangana was stronger than the TRS and BJP who were trying to increase their strength in the legislative assembly by enforcing by-elections. He said that it was the responsibility of all elected representatives in the region to ensure that the lives and properties of the people in the region, especially the employees who are protesting for the separate State are protected.

Yashki warned that the Kiran Kumar Reddy Government would collapse if it tries to sabotage the Telangana agitation.