Hyderabad, October 24: Over 1,000 Telugu Desam Party leaders and workers, under the aegis of Telangana TDP Forum, left for New Delhi by a special train this evening to stage an agitation near the Jantar-Mantar.
The agitation is to mount pressure on the Centre to expedite the process of forming separate Telangana state.
“We want the Centre to immediately table a Bill in the ensuing session of Parliament for formation of Telangana state in accordance with its promise made on December 9 last,” Telangana TDP Forum convenor and senior MLA Nagam Janardhana Reddy said.
Their New Delhi trip is to bring pressure on the Centre to table a Bill for Telangana formation without waiting for the report of the five-member Srikrishna Committee, appointed to look into the situation in Andhra Pradesh.
Talking to newsmen before leaving for New Delhi, Reddy said they sought the appointment of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and AICC president Sonia Gandhi to present their case for a separate state. “If they deny us an audience, we shall stage a sit-in at the Jantar-Mantar to attract the nation’s attention on the issue. We shall also meet leaders of other parties in New Delhi to drum up support for our cause,” he added. MORE
To a question, Reddy said the Telangana TDP Forum had the approval of party chief N Chandrababu Naidu. “All our activities are with his approval only,” he said.
Earlier, the TDP leaders paid floral tributes to ‘Telangana martyrs’ at the Gun Park Memorial in front of the state Assembly building.
TDP MPs, MLAs and MLCs from Telangana region, party politburo member Kadiyam Srihari, former home minister T Devender Goud and other senior leaders are leading the New Delhi yatra.
The TDP cadres are reaching New Delhi in separate groups and will congregate at Jantar-Mantar for the agitation. Though the TDP leaders initially planned to stage a dharna outside Sonia Gandhi’s residence if she denied an appointment for them, they dropped the move now, party sources said.
–PTI