Azad spills the beans on Telangana State formation

​Hyderabad: Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday made it clear that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) cannot claim credit for the creation of Telangana State as the Congress never consulted with it while making the decision.

In an informal chat with the media, as part of his visit to Hyderabad, he said, “I make it amply clear that the TRS has no role even up to the pinhead in granting statehood to Telangana.” He said that the TRS has no role and that they were not consulted while making the decision. He said that he was the general secretary and Minister of Health when consultations were carried out. He said that he held separate meetings with MLAs, MPs, MLCs of both side and was in constant touch with the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

During the meeting, the MPs, MLAs and MLCs of Telangana unanimously demanded for the statehood to Telangana. He said that for dozens of times the Telangana legislators met Union Ministers and other leaders. He made it clear that the credit for the creation of Telangana goes to MPs and MLAs of the Congress. He said that they have gone to the extent of disturbing Parliament. In spite of being members of the Congress, they did not allow Parliament to function. During this process he even once did not consult TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao, he added.

He said that they were in no need to consult Chandrashekar Rao as the Congress leaders of Telangana themselves were demanding for statehood. He said that he would challenge the TRS to show the proofs for their participation in the decision making.

Criticising the TRS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for not keeping their promises, he said that both are like first cousins in that regard. Caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had promised lakhs of jobs to the unemployed but failed to keep the promises. Even he did not fill the vacancies in the government and there would be no question of creating new jobs, he added. In the same way the Prime Minister had promised 10 crore jobs and till now he has given only five to six lakhs.

He said that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao have cheated the youth. Even the farmers of Telangana were cheated and giving Rs 4, 000 per acre was not an answer to their issues.
Azad said that the Congress never proposed for merger with the TRS. He said that it was the TRS chief who made the promise to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in this regard and failed to keep it. He alleged that Chandrashekar Rao lied at every step.

Replying to a question on alliances, he said that he was a member of five-member committee of the Congress on that and the discussions were at initial stage and he could not disclose the progress. He said that Congress would have alliance with likeminded parties.

He said that it would not have alliance with a party which has dubious stand towards the BJP, ostensibly referring to the TRS. He said that while the TRS criticised the BJP at the state level, it helps it at every stage in the Parliament. The TRS helped the BJP during the President and the Vice President elections, on the GST bill and others. It has also supported the demonetisation, which has harmed the nation much. He said that it was not demonetisation but criminalisation and the TRS is a party to it.