December deadline for Congress to get Telangana bill passed: BJP

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj today set December as the deadline for Congress to get the bill for creation of Telangana state passed in Parliament, failing which, she said, her party would lead "second round" of the the struggle for the separate state.

Addressing a rally organised by BJP here this evening, Swaraj also debunked the talk that her party took a 'U-turn' on the Telangana issue as it was seeking to re-establish the ties with Telugu Desam Party.

"We will wait till December. If Telangana Bill is passed in Parliament in the winter session, I will come here again to celebrate. Otherwise, I will come to lead the second round of struggle for Telangana," she said.

Noting that development could be immediately kick-started in Telangana if the bill was passed in the winter session, she said the Congress would be exposed if it was not done.

"If the Telangana Bill is not passed, we will tell the Congress enough is enough...we can't trust you anymore. We will then launch the second round of struggle," she said.

Referring to reports that BJP took a U-turn on Telangana in view of likely alliance with the TDP, the Leader of Opposition shot back: "Alliance or no alliance, there will be no change in BJP's stand on Telangana." "There is no discussion of alliance with the TDP yet. Chandrababu Naidu, along with his party leaders, met Rajnath Singh in New Delhi only to discuss the ongoing turmoil in Seemaandhra region. Chandrababu also met the President, Prakash Karat, Sharad Yadav and other leaders," she pointed out.

Stating that alliances might be required to form a stable government at the Centre, she said, "Whatever be our alliances, we remain committed to Telangana." BJP did not support the Telangana cause due to any political considerations, she said.

"We supported it because of the backwardness and lack of development. Our task does not stop with the formation of Telangana state, it only starts, as it has to be developed on par with other states." BJP state president G Kishan Reddy, MLAs Nagam Janardhan Reddy, V Srinivas Reddy and other leaders attended the rally.