YSR is No 1 enemy of Telangana': TRS Chief

Hyderabad, Nov 13: Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) Chief and former Union Labour Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao today alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was number one enemy of Telangana and charged him of the postponment of clear assurance from the AICC on the formation of a separate Telangana state.

Addressing mediapersons in the Telangana Bhavan, his party headquarters, Mr Rao said the AICC leadership had consulted him when he resigned from the Union Cabinet and asked him what kind of assurance he was expecting to withdraw his resignation.

When he said he wanted a clear assurance on Telangana, the AICC had agreed and ''it was Rajasekhara Reddy who blocked such an assurance from the AICC'', Mr Rao claimed.

Referring to the statement of Dr Reddy yesterday at Sircilla that Ms Sonia Gandhi was a leader with moral strength, Mr Rao said it was with the same conviction his party had waited for two years for her to announce a positive statement, before quitting the UPA.

He said he was willing to withdraw from the Karimnagar Lok Sabha by-election caused by his own resignation, if Ms Gandhi came forward with a clear assurance on Telangana.

Rao questioned the Congress which was leading the UPA government why it had not expressed its stand on Telangana while it sought the opinion of every other party. It was an insult to other political parties and a fraud on the Telangana people, ''perpetuated at the instance of Rajasekhara Reddy'', Mr Rao added.

Stating that the Karimnagar by-election would have immense effect on Indian politics, Mr Rao alleged that the Congress party was distributing money and liquor to win the voters and defeat him.

He called upon students, intellectuals and other elite sections of the society to unite Telangana people of the constituency and ensure his victory so that the Telangana cause would be strengthened.

UNI