Government chief whip Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy on Friday claimed that the formation of 2 states would benefit the Telugu speaking people in the longer run.
Participating in the debate on the State Reorganisation Bill 2013, Gandra said that the Telangana Bill should be welcomed, and accepted by the people and leaders of all the regions, as the formation of 2 states would help the entire Telugu speaking population.
He thanked UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi for accepting the demand for a separate Telangana state despite facing several challenges.
Gandra said that the Centre had consulted all major political parties before deciding in favour of Telangana, and that it was only after their written consent that an announcement was made.
"Therefore, it is wrong to oppose the Telangana Bill at this stage," he said.
He added that some leaders are "trying to question the authority" on the use of Article 3.
He said that the Telangana Bill has been sent to the Assembly only for its views and therefore, they should be sent to the Centre at the earliest.
He hoped that the Parliament would pass the Bill during its next session.
The Government chief whip also said that the credit for the formation of Telangana goes to over 1,000 youth who committed suicide for the cause.
He said that such sacrifices forced the Congress Working Committee to take a favourable decision.
He also made specific references to the backwardness in Telangana region.
Citing an instance, he said that while thousands of TMC of Godavari water is going waste into the sea, no serious efforts were made to start the Pranahita-Chevella project. (INN)
filed in:Congress, Telangana Formation, Sonia Gandhi, Telangana Bill