Congress Has Hurt Telugu Pride: Naidu

Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu has accused the Congress-led UPA government of making a mockery of the process of the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing a press conference at his residence in Jubilee Hills on Wednesday, Naidu said that Congress leaders have "repeatedly insulted" Telugu people and their pride in the name of the state's bifurcation. He alleged that the ruling party has forcibly imposed its will on the Telangana issue upon all others.

The representations made by the political parties and the letters sent to the Centre by the TDP were not taken into any consideration, he lamented.

Naidu also asked PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana to divulge the details of his "secret" meeting with Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde while the Group of Ministers (GoM) was meeting the representatives of political parties in the national capital.

Accusing the Congress of adopting a "strange" stand, he said that the ruling party has given split opinions on the bifurcation issue. "While one representative claimed that Telangana will be a reality by January 1, 2014, another claimed that the Centre is stopping the bifurcation process," he said.

The TDP chief said that the Centre has violated the set norms of holding all-party meetings. He said he wondered how individual interviews with the representatives of political parties for a mere 20 minutes could be a basis to divide the state.

Naidu also accused the Congress of having a secret tie-up with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the YSR Congress Party on the bifurcation issue. He alleged that both TRS and YSRCP are acting as per the directions of the Congress High Command.

He also alleged that YSRCP representatives had met the GoM on the directions of the Congress leadership.

The TDP chief questioned the Centre for not inviting the Joint Action Committees of both the regions for holding consultations on the bifurcation issue. He said that the Centre was not serious about listening to any group or stakeholders, and that it was merely finishing formalities as eyewash. He criticized Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh for having failed to react to the mass agitation by Seemandhra people going on for the last three months. (INN)