Devender Goud likely to launch new party on Aug 11

Hyderabad, Jul 5 (UNI) Former Home Minister T Devender Goud, who quit the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) recently to espouse the cause of statehood for Telangana region, is likely to launch his new party ''Praja Telangana'' on August 11.

Mr Goud, who quit the TDP along with another former Minister E Peddi Reddy, finalised the name after considering alternative names like ''Nava Telangana'' and ''Telangana Vimukthi Party,'' sources close to him told UNI here today.

The name would be finalised after holding detailed discussions with well-wishers and elite from the Telangana region, including professors of the Osmania University, former Kakatiya University Vice-Chancellor K Jayashankar and Irrigation Expert Vidyasagar.

In a bid to mobilise youth, Mr Goud, a noted backward class leader, would address the students of the Osmania University on July nine and unveil his party's aims and objectives.

''We have set up an office in New Delhi to approach the Election Commission (EC) for the party symbol,'' they added.

Ahead of the launch, Mr Goud would hold a series of meetings to finalise the policies and programmes for the proposed party.

He would hold a meeting with non-gazetted officers here on July 12 to elicit the views of the employees. This would be followed by a public meeting at Godavarikhani in the coal belt on July 19.

A massive public meeting would also be organised in the Nizam College grounds here on August 27 to lay the foundation for a protracted struggle to achieve people's Telangana, they said.

The intellectuals from the region had suggested that the formation of a political party was imperative to take forward the movement for a separate state, they added.

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