TRS asks Sonia Gandhi to apologise for suicides of 1,200 youth in Telangana movement

Hyderabad: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti stepped up its attack on the Congress and demanded UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to apologise for the death of 1,200-odd youth in the movement for a separate state. It said the Congress will be routed in the country and will not get even 70 Lok Sabha seats.

Even as Mrs Gandhi undertook a whirlwind tour to Karimnagar for the election campaign, TRS legislators K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao hit out at the Congress for suicides and granting statehood to neglected Telangana with several conditions, which they said was unjust and atrocious.

“Mrs Gandhi should apologise to people for the deaths of 1,200 innocent youth. The opportunistic politics of the Congress is the root cause for the deaths. Mrs Gandhi owes an unconditional apology,” Mr Rama Rao said.

Stating that the Congress had no option, but to grant Telangana, he alleged that the party’s dilly dallying on the statehood issue led to suicides.

“Congress will face humiliating defeat in the country. It will not get even 70 seats. Surveys also indicate Rahul Gandhi will be out. The Congress is a sinking ship and people know what would happen if they vote for it. Sonia Gandhi ignored the needs of Telangana people and granted statehood with several conditions,” the TRS leader added.

The TRS sought an immediate change in Polavaram design to avoid submergence of many girijan villages, cancellation of ordinance merging seven Telangana mandals with Seemandhra in Khammam district.