TDP Telangana leaders to protest outside Sonia’s house

HYDERABAD - Leaders of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from Andhra Pradesh’s Telangana Monday decided to stage a sit-in outside the residence of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi next month to demand separate statehood to the region.

The Telangana TDP leaders forum, at a meeting here, decided to hold ‘Chalo Delhi’ Oct 24 to press the demand for formation of separate Telangana.

Former minister and TDP legislator N. Janardhan Reddy told reporters that they would also seek an appointment with Gandhi to urge her to immediately take steps for carving out a Telangana state. “We will also stage a dharna outside the residence of the Congress president,” he said.

However, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao advised TDP leaders to hold a protest outside the residence of their party president N. Chandrababu Naidu.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said in Karimnagar that Gandhi had already agreed to the demand for separate Telangana state.

“It is Chandrababu Naidu who has conspired to stop formation of Telangana state and the TDP leaders from the region should stage dharna outside his house,” he said.

He said the TDP leaders should make Naidu submit a representation to the Srikrishna committee seeking a Telangana state.

He alleged that Naidu, who hails from Rayalaseema region, instigated leaders of TDP and Congress in other regions to create hurdles in the formation of Telangana after the central government made an announcement Dec 9 last year.

KCR’s latest attack has intensified the war of words between the two parties over Telangana.

Naidu, who recently faced protests from Telangana activists during his visit to the region last week, remarked that KCR was daydreaming of coming to power.