TD, Cong, BJP blamed for State division

Vijayawada: Former legislator and Samaikyandhra leader Adusumilli Jayaprakash, here on Thursday, held the Congress, the Telugu Desam and the Bharatiya Janata Party responsible for the division of the State. Addressing a news conference, Jayaprakash alleged that these three parties have to shoulder the responsibility and have to correct themselves by withdrawing their stand on the division of the State. He said that the Congress had first declared that division of the State was not possible without consensus among the political parties.

He further said that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh too had admitted that creation of Telangana was not possible without consensus among the political parties. It was for this reason, the TD and the BJP have given letters in favour of the division, he added. He recalled that the Congress in its 2004 and 2009 elections manifesto had said that it would constitute second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) on Telangana and other such demands in the country.
The same thing was announced during alliance with the TRS in the 2004 elections, he added.

However, the Congress and the Prime Minister have gone back on their statements and have announced a road map for Telangana on December 9, 2009, which had caused revolt in the Seemandhra region. He further said that Union Ministers Sushil Kumar Shinde, P Chidambaram and Jitender Singh too had spoken for consensus for the division of the State. He regretted that the ministers too had gone back on their statements paving the way for the division of the State.

Jayaprakash took a dig at the BJP for its double stand on the Telangana demand. He said that during the NDA rule, the then Home Minister L K Advani had ruled out the possibility of creating Telangana and Vidarbha States as majority people from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra opposed it. He said Advani had even mentioned the same views in his letter to the BJP senior leader A Narendra in the same year. He further recalled that BJP’s other senior leaders like Murali Manohar Joshi and Venkaiah Naidu too have ruled out the possibility of the creation of Telangana State.

The former legislator also found fault with the TDP for its total change on the Telangana issue. He said that Chandrababu Naidu had ridiculed the Telangana demand on February 12, 2005 during his speech in the Assembly. However, the same Chandrababu Naidu had declared on December 8, 2009 on the floor of the Assembly that his party would support Telangana Bill.

He blamed the TD for its pro-Telangana stand which resulted in the Congress finally taking the decision to divide the State.Jayaprakash said that the Seemandhra people would not forgive these three parties if they failed to withdraw their letters and change their stand on division of the State.