Chandrasekhar Rao criticises Congress, BJP over Telangana bypolls

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao today criticised the ruling Congress and main opposition
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for their willingness to contest in the coming by-elections to 12 assembly seats in Telangana region.

"They (Congress and TDP) did not quit in the first place. Now, they want to contest the bypolls. Do they want to prove that there is no sentiment in favour of separate Telangana?," he said, addressing a gathering at the TRS office in Hyderabad.

Telangana people should highlight their strong support for separate state by making TRS candidates win in the bypolls, he said.

The by-elections have been necessitated by the resignation of 10 TRS MLAs and one MLA each from TDP and BJP in support of Telangana demand.

TRS and the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) have appealed to Congress and TDP not to field their candidates in the bypolls as the sitting MLAs had quit their posts in support of the separate statehood demand.

However, the two main parties have indicated their willingness to contest the bypolls though they have not yet announced the final word.

The JAC comprises TRS, BJP and various other organisations.

The bypolls should be held before mid-August as required by the law.