TRS floor leader Etela Rajender on Friday urged all members in the Legislative Assembly to unanimously support the draft Telangana Bill without any debate as all their parties had backed the demand of Telangana Statehood.
Participating in the debate on the draft Telangana Bill, Etela reminded that the Congress had included Telangana State issue in its manifestoes of 2004 and 2009 elections. The TDP also did the same in 2009 election manifesto and party president Nara Chandrababu Naidu had several times clarified that his party was not against formation of separate Telangana State. The YSR Congress party also made it clear at the all-party meeting convened by the Union Home Ministry in Delhi that formation of separate Telangana should be taken up as per the Article (3). Then PRP, which later merged with the Congress, also demanded ‘Samajika Telangana”. He reminded that all the members of the Legislative Assembly contested in 2009 elections on the B-form of these political parties and were elected to the House. The legislators, who had not questioned the stand of their parties on Telangana issue have no moral right to talk against the draft Telangana Bill. Under the circumstances, the House should unanimously support the draft Telangana Bill, he suggested.
The TRS floor leader highlighted the injustice meted out to Telangana region in jobs, irrigation and education during the last 56 years in the united Andhra Pradesh. The violation of agreements and GOs, which were brought out to protect the interests of Telangana people, by the colonial Andhra rulers led to the Telangana agitation resulting in the bifurcation of the State.
“We have no objection even if Seemadhra legislators opposed the Bill. But, their action in tearing and burning copies of the Bill was atrocious and uncivilized. Is it the culture of Seemandhra leaders? Like Bible to Christians, Quran to Muslims, Telangana Bill was sacred to Telangana people”, he maintained. (NSS)
