Hyderabad, January 17: Members of various political parties, at a meeting organised by the NRIs’ Telangana Development Forum (TDF) here on Sunday, called upon Telangana entrepreneurs to take the plunge and work shoulder to shoulder with people’s representatives to achieve statehood for the region.
“Seemandhra MPs and industrialists like Kavuri Sambasiva Rao and Lagadapati Rajagopal strongly oppose formation of a separate Telangana state and are lobbying hard at the central level to prevent state’s bifurcation. On the other hand, no industrialist or entrepreneur from Telangana has taken the initiative to bring pressure on the Centre for creation of a Telangana state,” they observed.
The participants included MLAs N Janardhan Reddy (TDP), K Taraka Rama Rao (TRS) and S Sudhakar Reddy (CPI); MLCs K Yadava Reddy and KR Amos; MPs G Sukhender Reddy, G Vivek and Madhu Yashki Goud; and former Assembly speaker KR Suresh Reddy (all Congress).
MLA J Ranga Reddy of the CPM which favours an integrated state, also attended the meeting.
They said Telangana investors would have a better future and self-respect only if a separate state was created for the region.
Besides, they felt the need for removal of apprehensions among the investors from the Seemandhra region by assuring them of protection to their business establishments and future investments in the Telangana region.
The participants, who included members of the TDF and other people’s organisations, decided to submit a letter to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) addressing its apprehensions on future investments in the region.
They further resolved that all the Telangana protagonists should strive for bringing pressure on the Centre for the regional cause.
Senior TDP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy urged leaders of all political parties in the region to come together and intensify the agitation to achieve the goal. Telangana state could not be achieved till now due to lack of unity among the leaders, he remarked.
Talking to newsmen later, Nizamabad MP Madhu Yashki asserted in reply to a question that they (Telangana leaders of all parties) decided to fight for Telangana above party lines and to keep aside their respective party flags in case the Central Government refused to form a separate state.
“Now the movement is in the hands of the people and they will not forgive leaders who try to backstab the movement in order to have positions or posts,’’ he warned.
Peddapalli MP G Vivek claimed that Seemandhra industrialists who participated in today’s TDF meeting clarified that they were not against formation of Telangana state but wanted ‘stability’ to do business and provide employment in the region.
“We (the Telangana Congress MPs) are ready to make any type of sacrifices for the cause if a bill on Telangana is not introduced in Parliament. We have our own strategies to implement,” he said.
–Agencies