Even as Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu staged a dharna at Telangana martyrs memorial at the Gun Park, opposite the Assembly, demanding a steel factory for the Telangana region, Telangana Telugu Desam Forum (TTDF) MLAs were yet to decide on participating in the TJAC’s Chalo Assembly programme on June 14.
TDP MLAs from Telangana called on Naidu at his chambers on Tuesday and discussed the situation. Naidu reportedly asked TTDF convenor E Dayakar Rao to convene a meeting on Wednesday with party MLAs and decide the course of action.
“We have not received any invite from the TJAC. They did not even sought our support for the Chalo Assembly programme. However, we had supported the programmes of TJAC directly or indirectly earlier,” a TDP Telangana MLA told Express.
He added that Naidu wanted Dayakar Rao to convene a meeting with TDP MLAs and decide the best course of action.
As there was no invite either from TJAC or TRS, the TTDF MLAs may have their own programme on June 14 and try to score over TJAC in terms of media publicity. The TDP Telangana MLAs are likely to take up their own agitational programme either on the premises of the Assembly or outside it on June 14. It may be recalled that the TDP was sore over the attitude of the TRS and the TJAC. In such a situation, the TDP Telangana MLAs are likely to take up their own programme and claim that they are the real champions of the Telangana statehood cause.
Meanwhile, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu staged a dharna near the Gun Park on Tuesday too. Naidu opposed diversion of iron ore from Telangana to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, located in the Andhra region. “The government should set up a steel plant at Bayyaram in Khammam district, where vast iron ore reserves are available,” Naidu demanded. Stating that a large number of tribals were living in Bayyaram area, Naidu urged the government to provide employment to tribals and pay fair compensation for tribal lands.
“TDP opposed allotment of iron ore to Rakshana Steels in the past. Now, the party is opposing diversion of iron ore to Vizag. Naidu declared in Vizag meeting that the TDP will oppose diversion of Telangana iron ore to an Andhra factory,” TDP MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah said. He alleged that when the TDP raised the Bayyaram issue in the Assembly, TRS MLAs did not utter a single word in support of TDP.