TRS chief vows to bring ''pro-Telangana forces'' together

Hyderabad, Jun 13 (UNI) Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) President K Chandrasekar Rao today vowed to bring together ''pro-Telangana forces'' even as the Telangana issue, which created a turmoil within the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), continued to dog the main opposition party ahead of its crucial core committee meeting on June 18.

The TRS Chief told mediapersons ''the movement for statehood for Telangana is gathering momentum now and I will strive to bring together all Telanganites on a common platform to achieve the goal.'' Closely watching the development within the TDP, the TRS President said it augured well for the Telangana movement.

Meanwhile,Former TDP Minister C Muthyam Reddy, who unsuccessfully contested the Domata Assembly Seat raising ''Jai Telangana, Jai TDP'' slogan expressed confidence while talking to mediapersons that the TDP would take a favourable decision on the issue.

He was not the lone person to raise ''Jai Telangana slogan'' during the recent byelections, he said, adding Former TDP Ministers K Srihari and E Peddi Reddy as also TDP Warangal MP elect E Dayakar Rao had gone to the electorate saying they would ''convince'' the party to take a favourable decision on the issue.

The TDP leader said pro-Telangana leaders were likely to chalk out their future course of action only after the June 18 meeting.

He, however, parried a question whether the party was facing intense pressure from within, with many leaders airing divergent views on the issue, saying ''wait and see.'' After the party's poor performance in his home district of Rangareddy in the recent byelections, TDP Polit Bureau Member T Devender Goud, with high political stakes, had opined the party should take an early decision on the issue to improve its prospects in the next Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the region.

After a one-to-one meeting with Mr Goud just an hour before the party Politburo meeting near Kakinada early this week, TDP Supremo N Chandrababu Naidu had directed his partymen not to air their views on the sensitive issue in public.

However, his partymen ignored his caution as Former Minister T Srinivas Yadav, who had won the Secunderabad Assembly seat in the byelection, once again crossed swords with pro-Telangana leaders within the TDP, by articulating the view that the party should support united Andhra Pradesh stand.

In a bid to preempt action against him, Party Vice-President G Sukinder Reddy had claimed that some party leaders were hatching a conspiracy to send him out of the party for espousing the cause of Telangana in the party forum for over three years.

In the backdrop of the TDP contemplating to serve showcause notice for allegedly ''spoiling'' the winning chances of Alair Assembly Candidate M Narasimhalu in the recent byelections, Mr Reddy had a meeting with Mr Goud yesterday to discuss the political situation ahead of the June 18 meeting.

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