BJP, CPI asked Prime Minister to take initiative in Telangana issue - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Bharatiya Janata Party and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders on Wednesday morning urged the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take an initiative in resolving the demand for the creation of separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh. Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said that Rao must break his fast, as he had been promised about immediate steps being taken by the government in consultation with all the opposition parties in the parliament. "What is the stand of the government on this burning issue because practically the entire state is boiling and the people are on the streets and students are boycotting the colleges? Today, the latest news is that teachers have also come out. The government has closed down the university and the students have been made to vacate their hostels. They have declared Hyderabad as inaccessible to all the people as there is a peace rally tomorrow. For that they (state government) have deployed over 20,000 of police force (from) outside," said Venkaiah Naidu in the capital. Senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta, however, drew a parallel between the ongoing stir for Telangana and the Babri Masjid by contending that if instant action is not taken, then the situation could go out of control. "The agitation is going on demanding Telangana. I conveyed to him (Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) about our support to Telangana. There have been cases of suicides and I told him there is discontent among the tourists also. Therefore, if the government does not do something or try to find out solution, otherwise there will be default on their part. We discussed the default of government in the Babri Masjid issue. Similarly if the government does not do anything to settle the issue in Telangana, it will be another default," said Gurudas Dasgupta. Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), a regional political party, has been spearheading this agitation and its chief, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, popularly addressed as KCR is on a fast unto death for this cause. Reportedly, his condition has worsened since Wednesday morning. The agitation for Telangana has resulted in series of violent incidents in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and also a couple of other places in Andhra Pradesh. Activists of TRS and other supporters have been repeatedly taking to the streets ever since Rao was arrested.