BJP accuses Cong of betraying people fighting for Telangana

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday accused the Congress-led UPA Government of betraying people fighting for the Telangana cause.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde made it clear on Sunday that a decision on the contentious Telangana statehood demand will be delayed further, as the government needed more time to arrive at a final decision on the issue.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said: "It is complete betrayal of the Telangana cause and people. The Congress-led UPA Government is not ready to give Telangana and they are regularly fooling people over the issue. There is complete policy paralysis. I assure of full NDA support in the Parliament on the issue."

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has threatened to intensify its stir for a separate state a day after Centre deferred its own January 28 deadline, evoking sharp reactions from the pro-Telanaga groups.

Shinde had set a one-month deadline for a decision in December when he had invited two representatives from each party to know their views afresh on the Telangana issue in New Delhi.

The meeting was held to bring out the views of all parties on the demand to create a separate Telangana state.

The four-decade-old demand for Telangana, which is to be carved out of the economically less developed part of Andhra Pradesh, gathered momentum after the Congress party ruled government accepted the demand in principle.

So far, 33 Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Praja Rajyam Party and Independent lawmakers hailing from the Telangana region have resigned from parliament and the Andhra State Assembly.

The demand for the separate state has seen violent protests and political power play, with more than 300 people killed between 1969 and 1972.

Several protests and shutdowns had brought Andhra Pradesh to a near halt in 2009 and 2010 as pro- Telangana activists persisted with their demand.