Telangana Will Be In BJP Manifesto: L K Advani

BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, on Wednesday, announced that Telangana would be the party's second major issue, after corruption, in the next general elections.

Addressing the concluding function of the BJP's 3-day Telangana Poru Deeksha at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, Advani said if the UPA fails to give statehood for the region, the BJP would include the formation of Telangana as the second issue in its election manifesto.

He slammed the Congress for going back on its promise of initiating the process of the formation of Telangana.

Reiterating that smaller states were good for the nation, he said that a Telangana state would ensure proper and focused development of the region. He praised the people of Telangana for their continued struggle for the statehood. He assured them that the NDA would bifurcate Andhra Pradesh soon after coming to power.

Meanwhile, Sushma Swaraj, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, stated that the formation of a Telangana state would not be possible with the Congress. Talking to media persons after participating in the hunger strike undertaken by BJP state president G Kishan Reddy, she reiterated that separate statehood would be possible only with the BJP.

Accusing the Congress of repeatedly cheating the people of the region over the issue, she asked the people to "tolerate" these "labour pains" in order to see the birth of Telangana.

Stating that the dream of the people of the region was not far away, she said that the NDA government would immediately pass the bill on a separate Telangana when it comes to power in the next general elections.

She asked Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao to not believe the Congress' false promises. She also took serious note of KCR stating that the Centre would announce its decision on the bifurcation of the state within 2 or 3 months.

"I don't understand from where KCR has been getting such false hints from the Centre," she said.

Earlier, Kishan Reddy called off his hunger strike after drinking lime juice offered by L K Advani. Senior BJP leaders from the state, including Bandaru Dattatreyya and Ch Vidyasagar Rao, were also present. (INN)