BJP says Centre should have acted earlier, faster on Telangana issue

New Delhi, Dec 10 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said the Central Government should have acted faster on the Telangana issue.

Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said there should not have been any delay by the Central government to take a firm decision on the Telangana issue.

"The Centre should have acted fast on the Telangana issue. Why there was a delay in the decision," he added.

Meanwhile in Parliament, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, L K Advani, said that while the opposition appreciated the government's move to initiate the process for the formation of the Telangana State, and K Chandrashekhar Rao's decision to break his eleven day fast, it would have been appropriate if Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had also made the announcement inside the House and also revealed how the government is planning to go about the process, though this was not necessary under the Constitution.

Responding to Advani's missive, Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee said that as the decision to initiate the process for the formation of the Telangana State was taken late on Wednesday night, it was not possible for the Home Minister to be present in the House.

He however said that members of the House would be informed of all developments relating to the issue, once a report was given to the Centre by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah and his government.

Under tremendous pressure, the Centre late on Wednesday night accepted the demand of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrashekhar Rao for the formation of a Telangana State.

The TRS chief, who had been on a fast unto death and was admitted in the ICU of Hyderabad's Nizam Hospital, finally broke his fast early this morning, expressing his delight over the result.

A decision to activate the process for the formation of a separate State of Telangana was taken at a late night meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah after two rounds of consultations with the Congress Core Committee and Sonia Gandhi.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said, "After these consultations, I am making this statement. The process of forming the state of Telangana will be initiated. An appropriate resolution will be moved in the state Assembly."

Chidambaram added that the Central Government was concerned over the Telangana issue and after extensive consultations with the Prime Minister and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosiah, this decision was taken.

The Telangana region accounts for 119 of the 294 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh and 17 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats.

The Centre and the Congress party were forced to take this stride, due to the deterioration in the health of Rao, whose fast-unto-death had entered the 11th day on Wednesday. (ANI)