Chandrashekhar not provoked to quit as MP: Cong

New Delhi, Sep 13 (UNI) Even as the Congress today said that TRS leader K Chandrashekhar Rao was still with the UPA, the party today indicated that it would feild a candidate on the Parliamentary seat vacated by the former Union Labour Minister in the event of a by-election.

"Whenever there is a vacancy on the seat, we will field our candidate," AICC General Secretary Incharge of Andhra Pradesh Digvijay Singh said, apparently hinting that the party would not mind putting up a Congress candidate against Mr K Chandrashekhar Rao if the latter contests the seat again as a TRS candidate.

However, Mr Singh pointed out that Mr Chandrashekhar Rao is still part of the UPA as he has not given his letter of resignation so far. "We had fought the last Lok Sabha elections together, he recalled." Commenting on Mr Rao's resignation as the member of Parliament, Mr Singh maintained that no one instigated him to resign his Lok Sabha seat.

"He walked out on his own," he noted.

When pointed out that Andhra Pradesh Congress leader S N Rao had dared him to contest the Lok Sabha election against him saying that he should retire from politics in case he (the TRS Supremo) lost, M Mr Singh quipped "in politics, one should not be provoked." Replying to a question, the AICC General Secretary said he had told Mr S N Rao to exercise restraint in his comments. "We would not like this slanging match to continue," he added.

"All we are concerned with are the people of Telengana, the development of the region and the creation of Telengana as a separate state," Mr Singh said.

Mr Singh pointed out that the Congress had raised the issue of separate Telengana state much before Mr Chandrashekhar took up the issue. In reply to a question, he said he would be prepared to talk to the TRS leader if he was assigned to do so by the Congress High Command.

UNI YS VD DB2002