BJP wants UPA to introduce Telangana bill in Parliament

Hyderabad, Jan 19 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party Andhra Pradesh unit today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for early introduction of a bill in Parliament for the creation of separate Telangana State and defuse the potential ''explosive situation''.

Reiterating his party's support for such a bill, BJP State President B Dattatraya suggested his party was ready to introduce a private bill in Parliament in case there were any technical difficulties for the Congress, which could extend support to the bill to circumvent possible opposition from one or two UPA constituents.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, a copy of which was released to the press here, the BJP leader questioned the propriety of Congress Andhra Pradesh affairs incharge Veerappa Moily in making an ''uncalled for'' statement on formation of second States Reorganisation Commission.

It would have had different connotation had it come from the Prime Minister or the Union Home Minister, he added.

Mr Dattatraya, in his letter, with a copy marked to Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, said when the recommendations of the first SRC were not honoured, where was the need to propose a second SRC in the absence of any newly emerged criterion.

Recalling Congress President Sonia Gandhi's promise to the people of Telangana at a public meeting in Karimnagar in 2004 to fulfil their aspirations, he said people of Telangana had been waiting to hear from her.

He urged Dr Singh to appreciate the fact that more than a dozen states were created without constituting States Reorganisation Organisation. The Centre owed an explanation to the Telangana people as to why it did not honour recommendations of the first SRC headed by Justice Fazal Ali.

The timing of the announcement, with demands for separate states in the north-east as well as Jammu and Kashmir, might send a wrong signal to the neighbouring countries as well as the world at large on the nation's territorial integrity, he said.

Referring to the inclusion of Telangana issue in the UPA's Common Minimum Programme and the President's address to Parliament, he regretted that all parties except the Congresss had made known their stand on the issue before the UPA Committee headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

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