K Chandrasekhara Rao, Osmania students want Telangana bill in parliament

Pro-Telangana groups and parties upped the ante on Thursday, the day Justice BN Srikrishna Committee submitted to the government its report on feasibility of creating a separate Telangana state, demanding introduction of a bill on the issue in the budget session of parliament.

“We were never excited about what the committee says. Since there was a committee, we represented to it. We stick to our demand for creation of the state and introduction of a bill on the issue in the budget session,” Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhara Rao said.

Osmania University students’ joint action committee (JAC) and other JACs of the region too are strategising to push for the bill before the committee’s report is made public.

Home minister P Chidambaram, after receiving the report from Justice Srikrishna, said he would hold a meeting with representatives of eight recognised parties in Andhra Pradesh on January 6 in New Delhi and share the report’s contents with them before making it public.

“We welcome the decision to convene an all-party meeting. But we want the home ministry to invite only party presidents. If two members from each party are invited, like on earlier occasions, confusion will continue to prevail and the issue will not reach its logical conclusion,” KT Rama Rao, KCR’s son and TRS legislator from Sircilla in Karimnagar, said.

Congress leaders refused to go on record. “The party leadership will comment on the issue first,” a senior leader from Telangana said.

“The report will definitely indicate some solution to the Telangana problem. We hope there would be a continuance of the December 9 announcement. Otherwise, we will have to think of remaining afloat,” another senior Congress legislator said.

Chidambaram had said on December 9, 2009, that the Centre was committed to creation of a Telangana state.