Congress MLC Paladu Venkat Rao on Sunday claimed that the agitations held for Telangana State were fake and far from reality.
Participating in the debate on State Reorganisation Bill in the State Legislative Council, Paludu alleged that some capitalists were behind the Telangana agitations held in 1969 and now. He said the 1969 agitation launched by Marri Chenna Reddy was backed by PV Narasimha Rao. Similarly, some big capitalists were behind the TRS-led agitation. He said only poor people have lost their lives in the name of statehood.
Paludu sought to know the reasons why bifurcation was essential. He admitted that some mistakes were committed in the united Andhra Pradesh. However, he said immediate steps could be taken to rectify those mistakes.
The Congress MLC said that he would have preferred death over division of Andhra Pradesh. Further, he said that it was his misfortune that he was participating in the debate on Telangana Bill.
Paludu also made some strong comments against the Nizam Government and alleged that the erstwhile ruler did atrocities on Dalits and other down-trodden people of Telangana region. These remarks led to strong protest by MLC Farooq Hussain. (INN)