Deve Gowda to address Telangana meet

Hyderabad, Dec 15 (UNI) The cause of separate Telangana state has got support from none other than Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda who would particpate in a meeting to commemorate the impressive victory of Telangana Rashtra Samiti Chief K Chandrasekar Rao in the Karimnagar Byepolls.

Talking to reporters here this evening, the TRS chief said Mr Gowda would take part in the public meeting in Nalgonda on December 22 to commemorate the victory.

Mr Rao said in the wake of byepoll victory, more and more allies of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) were of the opinion that the Congress had committed a mistake by not accepting the popular demand for the separate state.

The Congress which leads the UPA should deliver the promise made in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) at least now or otherwise it would have no future in Telangana, he claimed as he appealed to Congressmen from the region to persuade Party high command to stand by the commitment made in the speech of President A P J Adbul Kalam to the joint-session of Parliament.

The talk of constituting Second 'States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) after the President's speech amounted to an 'insult' to the people of Telangana.

Mr Rao offered appologies to All India Majilis-e-Itehadul Muslimeen and the Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti for describing their role in the Karimnagar Bypoll campaign as that of 'Shikandis'(Eunch) and clarified he did not not mean to hurt their feelings.

The usage was very much in political parlance to describe those who were unfit for a war as Mahabharata epic character Bhishma had refused to fight with a 'Shikandi,' he explained.

With a view to give a push to the Telangana movement, the party would shortly hold a two-day workshop for professors, students, writers and artistes, he added.

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