Senior BJP Leader Venkaiah Naidu on Friday charged that the Congress was playing double game and cheating the people of Andhra Pradesh on the Telangana statehood issue.
Addressing a press conference here, Naidu said “The Congress is creating Telangana for political reasons hoping to come to power in both regions”. He further said there was no consensus on the statehood issue even within the Congress party.
“What Prime Minister proposes, Sonia Gandhi disposes”, he said and added that “Congress Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh is against the creation of Telangana State.”
Naidu said while the Congress party has been claiming that Telangana was the gift of Sonia Gandhi on one hand while saying that BJP was responsible for the bifurcation of the State simulatenously.
Naidu said the ‘BJP, which had, during the tenure of the NDA Government, created the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, was clear on the issue of granting statehood for Telangana.’
‘But we are also clear that justice has to be meted out to the people of Seemandhra,’ he clarified. The BJP leader further said the Bill on Telangana had to be thoroughly debated before proceeding further on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Naidu said the BJP would organise conferences in all the 543 Losk Sabha constituencies in January as part of its preparations for the 2014 general elections early next year to prepare the cadres and rope in well wishers.
The party would take up selection of party candidates by the end of January, he said and added that the the BJP National Council would give final touches to its campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. The meeting is slated for January 18 and 19 at New Delhi.