Nothing short of seperate Telangana for TRS: Rao

Hyderabad, Oct 23 (UNI) Even as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today asserted that the Congress was committed to its 'promise' of seperate Telangana state, TRS Chief and former Union Labour Minister K Chandrasekara Rao today said his party would not accept anything short of statehood.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi was striving for a consensus by convincing the Left parties, Dr Reddy told reporters while touring Medak district, while Mr Rao, who had quit the UPA government and resigned the Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat, maintained that there was a broad consensus on the statehood issue.

The BJP-led NDA and the major parties within the UPA in Parliament were extending their support for seperate Telangana state, he pointed out. ''It is for the Congress to make up its mind and come out with a clear announcement'', Mr Rao, who is seeking reelection from Karimnagar contitency, told UNI.

''The Congress's claim that there is no consensus is meaningless.

Only because of the dilatory tactics of the Congress, the TRS was forced to quit the UPA'', he said.

Meanwhile, former Union Minister of State for Home Ch Vidyasagar Rao, whose candidature for the crucial bypoll has been announced by the BJP, charged the Congress party with trying to decieve the people by putting the blame on the Left parties. ''It is only within the Congress party that there is no consensus on carving out the Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh'', he claimed.

Maintaining that there was no need for constitution of the Second States' Reorganisation Commission, the BJP leader said 14 new states, including Uttaranchal, Jharkand and Chattisgarh had been created after the nation's map was redrawn based on the first SRC in 1956.

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