K Chandrashekhar Rao blames Congress for Telengana deaths, cuts pact

Hyderabad: Burying any prospect of an alliance, TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao said on Saturday said there would be no alliance with the Congress. The people would not like to tie up with a party that was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent youth in the fight for a separate state, he said.

Mr Rao’s declaration came a day after Congress leader Digvijay Singh had said that the party would go it alone in Telangana. The breaking point, according to Mr Rao, was Mr Singh’s stating at a meet-the-press on Friday that “MLAs who wish to quit the TRS will be welcomed by the Congress”.

Reacting to this, Mr Rao threw a challenge: “Let us see from tomorrow whether Congress MLAs will rush to join the TRS or my party MLAs would go to the Congress side.”

Mr Rao’s announcement opened new possibilities in Telangana. The TRS has two options: Tie up with a TRS-CPI-CPM-Majlis combine or form an alliance with the BJP combine. A few leaders from the Telangana BJP prefer the TRS as a partner rather than the TDP.