HYDERABAD: Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy on Wednesday advised all the Opposition parties to join the legislature committee announced by him prior to the elections to study the demand for a separate Telangana State and the concerns of all stakeholders. Replying to the debate on the Governor’s address to the House, the Chief Minister announced that the panel would be reconstituted soon. The recommendations of the committee would be sent to the Union Government for taking a final decision on the issue.
Reddy was aggressive and attacked the main Opposition TDP, TRS and the Left parties, accusing them of trying to take an undue advantage of the Telangana issue during the election campaign. He also stoutly defended the controversial remarks he had made in Nandyal soon after the polls were over in Telangana. ‘‘I did say that people from other regions will be treated like foreigners in Hyderabad if the Telugu Desam was to form the government with the help of the TRS.
You ignored the rider (with TRS support) and attacked me.
What is wrong in my saying it when the TRS chief himself threatened to close down businesses of people from other regions if a Telangana State was created?’’ he countered.
Reddy said the TRS should introspect why it could win just 10 seats in the Telangana region where the Congress secured as many as 51 seats. The Chief Minister went on to say that the Congress was committed to the development of Telangana and would continue to earmark substantial funds for the execution of irrigation projects in the region.
The TDP and the TRS accused Reddy of whipping up regional passions ahead of elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
