Lending credence to the speculation that he is cosying up to the BJP-led NDA, TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao is learnt to have decided to vote against the UPA government on the FDI in retail issue in the Lok Sabha.
Rao, MP from Mahbubnagar, will be leaving for Delhi on Monday to take part in the discussion and voting on Dec 5. Another party MP, Vijayashanti, from Medak will also participate in the voting.
By voting against the UPA, the TRS chief wants to send a clear message to all political parties that his party has decided to take an anti-Congress stance and expose the government’s failure to honour its 2009 Dec 9 statement on Telangana.
At the same time, the pink party also wants to send a signal to the NDA that it is ready to do business with it for the sake of Tealnagana. Rao is likely to meet several NDA leaders during his two-day stay in the national capital.
Rao’s Delhi tour is coming at a time when senior Congress minister K Jana Reddy and others are anticipating an announcement from the Centre on Telangana by the month end. Some Congress leaders have declared a Dec 9 deadline for creation of new state.
There are some Telangana Congress leaders such as government whip T Jayaprakash Reddy urging the Centre not to divide the state but to announce a special package for Telangana.
Rao’s decision to drift away from the UPA was a result of his fruitless stay for about a month in Delhi trying to convince the central leaders on the need for state’s division.
He held consultations with Ghulam Nabi Azad, Vayalar Ravi, Oscar Fernandes and close aides of Sonia Gandhi. The TRS chief even offered to merge his party with the Congress if it was ready to create Telangana. TRS leader B Vinod Kumar supported the government on FDI.