PCC Chief says Advani rejected Telangana when Home Minister

Hyderabad, April 27 (UNI) APCCP chief Dr K Keshava Rao today said he had no faith in BJP top leader L K Advani's statements on formation of Telangana and claimed that he had once said that smaller states would pose a threat to the nation's security.

Dr Rao said Mr Advani wrote a letter when he was Home Minister to AICC President Ms Sonia Gandhi opposing formation of Telangana.

The same letter reached some newspaper offices in New Delhi yesterday, allegedly leaked by AICC sources.

Mr Advani, during his recent visit to the state as part of his Bharat Suraksha Yatra, said his party was supporting the formation of Telangana state and challenged the Congress to introduce a bill in the Parliament if it had the courage and conviction.

Mr Keshava Rao said Mr Advani had made five different statements about Telangana and could not be believed.

He said Mr Advani had clearly rejected the demand for the formation of Telangana as well as the appointment of the Second States Reorganisation Commission to consider the demand.

Forty one Congress MLAs of the Telangana region wrote a letter to Ms Gandhi urging her to use her good offices for the formation of Telangana in 2002. The Congress Working Committee considered the demand and decided to urge the then NDA government to appoint a second SRC. Ms Gandhi then wrote a letter to the then Home Minister Mr Advani asking the government to appoint the Commission.

Mr Keshava Rao claimed that Mr Advani had written to Ms Gandhi rejecting the demand for appointment of the second SRC and had also said it was not possible to form a separate Telangana state as it would give rise to demands from other regions of the country for separate statehood. Mr Advani had said that smaller states posed a threat to national integrity and security, he said.

UNI JRK AA LS RK2122