TJAC Sets Deadline For Cong, TDP

Telangana Political Joint Action Committee Chairman M Kodandaram, on Wednesday, set 24 April as the latest deadline for the ruling Congress and the opposition Telugu Desam Party, to make their stand on Telangana statehood clear.

If the parties fail to make their stand clear by 24 April, Kodandaram said, the JAC and the TRS would intensify their struggle.

Talking to media persons after emerging from a JAC Steering Committee meeting held at the JAC office, Kodandaram stated that the JAC has taken a decision to stage dharnas and protests across mandals and district headquarters in the Telangana region from 10 to 20 April, demanding that the Congress and the TDP make their stand clear.

The JAC would organize rallies in the district headquarters and create awareness on the matter, he said.

Kodandaram said that the JAC was opposed to the idea of Rayala-Telangana as proposed by some Rayalaseema leaders as an alternate to the bifurcation of the state.

He advised the Centre to announce its decision on Telangana before the end of the Parliament session, and to stop proposing other alternatives.

He suggested that Petroleum Minister S Jaipal reddy and Panchayat Raj Minister K Jana Reddy mount pressure on the Congress High Command to take a decision in favour of Telangana.

The JAC chairman stated that Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's "delaying tactics" and Congress and TDP leaders' "irresponsible statements" were driving students to end their lives.

He said TDP Telangana Forum members must come out of the TDP to prove their commitment towards the statehood issue.

Referring to suicides in the name of Telangana, Kodandaram called upon Telangana activists and youth to fight for a separate state and not resort to extreme steps. (INN)