Pro-Telangana Cong leaders launch hunger strike in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, July 13: Intensifying their agitation, several Congress MPs and MLAs, who quit their posts recently, today (Jul 13) began a 48-hour hunger strike to highlight their demand for a separate Telangana state.

The fast began at the Indira Park here, with seven MPs, three ministers, 14 MLAs and two MLCs taking part in it.

Though, there has been no concrete response from the Centre, following their en masse resignations, the hunger strike is aimed at highlighting their demand, Telangana Congress leaders said.

Asked about the comments by Union Minister and in-charge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, that wider consensus and a resolution in the assembly is necessary for the formation of a separate state, Congress MP from Karimnagar Ponnam Prabhakar said that a consensus would never be possible, as legislators from non-Telangana region are more in numbers.

"If he (Azad) has made such comments, it is regrettable. Leadeship needs to think about such comments. Consensus would not be possible, because they are more in numbers. In fact, all parties had agreed on the formation of Telangana earlier. We will use these comments to only strengthen our resolve and to achieve our goal," he said.

Azad had said in Beijing yesterday that a decision on the formation of Telangana state cannot move ahead an "inch" without the State Assembly passing a unanimous resolution.

"If we have to do this we have to pass a unanimous resolution. Unless it is passed, we cannot move one inch," Azad had said.

PTI