Introduce T-bill in this Parliament session: Datattreya

Hyderabad, Aug 24 (UNI) Making it clear that the party has no truck with the TRS now, BJP today challenged the Congress-led UPA to exhibit its political will by introducing a bill for creation of Telangana state in the current Parliament session.

Addressing a press conference here, BJP National Secretary B Datattreya said the Congress had lost a 'golden opportunity' for creating Telangana by seizing the BJP's offer to support the statehood bill. It could be easily passed in the Lok Sabha with the BJP having a strength of 138 MPs and the Congress 145 MPs, he said.

He alleged that TRS President K Chandrasekara Rao, who resigned as Union Labour Minister, was trying to extract 'concessions' from the Congress.

Referring to Defence Minister and UPA Sub-Committee on Telangana Chairman Pranab Mukherjee's statement that the BJP could not be believed as it had not replied to his letter, the former Union Minister said ''if he does not take cognizance of the resolution passed by the BJP National Executive, it means he has no confidence in democracy''.

On the Congress stand that it had only promised Second State's Reorganisation Commission (SRC), he asked what prevented it from constituting it in the last two and a half years.

Disputing Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's statement that the Congress Government ushered in allround development in the state- with focus on backward regions including Telangana, he alleged that no real development had taken place.

On the pretext of land acquisition for projects, the government had turned a realtor acquiring lands of the poor at a cheap price and selling them at an exhorbitant price to industrialists, he alleged. It also provided crores of rupees as mobilisation advances on the pretext of major irrigation projects, he added.

The party would organise 'Assembly Chalo' programme tomorrow by mobilising those affected by land acquisition, he added.

UNI SM MS KP1922