HYDERABAD: With the debate in Parliament on the grant of special status to Andhra Pradesh, leaders of ruling TRS and opposition Congress in Telangana have traded charges against each other.
Energy minister G Jagadish Reddy on Tuesday accused the Congress of ignoring the interests of Telangana, saying that the national party was speaking only in the interest of Andhra Pradesh.
“Telangana Congress leaders have always worked as slaves of the Congress high command,” the minister remarked and further alleged that Congress leaders had never spoken out against AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu who acted against the interests of Telangana.
Another minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, MLAs K Srinivas Goud and KP Vivekanand and MLC Sabhipur Raju alleged that the Congress and BJP were trying to suppress regional parties. “Though the Centre did not accord national project status to Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme, the government is constructing the project with its own funds. The Congress Working Committee, by adopting a resolution in favour of special status to AP, has is doing great injustice to Telangana,” they wondered.
In a strong rebuttal of the TRS leaders’ allegations, PCC vice-president Mallu Ravi recalled that though AP leaders had opposed the formation of Telangana state, Sonia Gandhi created the separate state. “Immediately after Telangana was formed, K Chandrasekhar Rao, along with his family members, called on Sonia Gandhi. Ministers like Jagadish Reddy and others should know the history before they speak,” Ravi suggested.