Demanding the introduction of a bill in Parliament on a separate Telangana during this winter session, members of the Telangana Telugu Desam Forum, on Monday, staged a rally at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
The TDP leaders told media persons that they had sought an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and All India Congress president Sonia Gandhi. They added that they plan to present a memorandum to the two leaders on the statehood issue.
Senior TDP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy, addressing the rally, accused the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi of playing games with the sentiments of people from Telangana.
Stating that the TDP was not against the formation of Telangana, he said nobody can crush the Telangana agitation with force.
He demanded that Congress president Sonia Gandhi make her stand on Telangana clear.
"If Sonia Gandhi makes her stand on Telangana clear, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu will also issue a statement in this regard," Nagam stated.
He said that a lot of injustice has been done to the Telangana region during the rule of the Congress.
The senior TDP leader also demanded ex-gratia for the next of kin of all those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Telangana, apart from giving employment to one member each of the martyrs' families.
Nagam demanded that police cases filed against Telangana protagonists be lifted.
Nearly 1,500 workers took part in the rally. Sensing trouble, the police took a few of the leaders into their custody.
The Forum had threatened to stage a dharna in front of Sonia Gandhi's residence if she did not grant its leaders an appointment.