TRS calls for shutdown against Centre's dithering on a separate Telangana

Expressing his unhappiness at the Centre dilly-dallying on carving out of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh state, the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) chief, K Chandrashekar Rao, called for bandh in the region on Saturday. "We have been handed so many promises; this one is no different," said Rao speaking at the end of an all-party in Delhi on Friday.

Terming the all-party meeting a "futile exercise", Rao announced the Telangana bandh to protest against the government's attitude towards the demand for a separate state.

Rao, the political face of the Telangana separate statehood agitation for the past few years, said he was just "not satisfied" with the Centre's announcement that a decision will be taken in a month. "They have said this over a hundred times. They have not fulfilled their promises. They have cheated the people of Telangana again," he told reporters after the meeting that was chaired by Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde in the capital on Friday.

Attended by representatives from registered political parties in Andhra Pradesh, the meeting saw all parties sticking to their known stands. While TRS supported the creation of a separate Telangana, Congress, TDP and YSR Congress remained ambivalent on their stands.

"This is not acceptable. We are not happy with the meeting at all. All parties reiterated their known stands. No one said anything new," he said. The Telangana bandh would have the support of Telangana Joint Action Committees, Rao said and added that the future course of action would be decided by Friday evening.