Chiranjeevi supports Telangana cause

Chiranjeevi supports Telangana కుసే




Chiranjeevi supports Telangana cause

Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi on Friday announced that his Praja Rajyam party will support the formation of a separate Telangana state if the Centre came with such a proposal.
"It is for the Central government to take a decision on creation of Telangana state. If it comes up with such a proposal, our party will not be an obstacle at any cost," he told a gathering in this Telangana town during his road show.

The megastar's pro-Telangana announcement came on the second day of his Telangana leg of road show.

The much-awaited policy announcement is set to impact the political equations in the state ahead of assembly elections, due in April next year.
"I know the people of this region are overwhelmingly in favour of separate state. I respect your feelings. If you are convinced that creation of separate state will ensure rapid development, I am with you," Chiranjeevi said, evoking loud applause from the gathering.

Focusing on social justice plank, he said, "What we want is a Telangana of social equality. Let us strive for achieving it."
Lobbing the ball in the Central government's court, Chiranjeevi said the decision on bifurcation of the state was left to the Union government.

"Let me declare here and now that my party will not stand in the way of creation of Telangana state if the Centre comes up with such a proposal," the matinee idol said.

Stating that Telangana region had suffered decades of neglect and discrimination, he said the statehood movement reflected the 'self-respect' of the people.
Making it clear that his party would not exploit the Telangana sentiment for political gains, Chiranjeevi said his party would adopt 'people's agenda and reflect their hopes and aspirations.'

Without naming any one, he took a dig at political parties for 'cheating the people of Telangana by taking advantage of their innocence'.

Acknowledging the overwhelming statehood sentiment in Telangana region, Chiranjeevi asked the people to elect the 'genuine' candidates who can mount pressure on the Centre to take a favourable decision.
"If the Central government is sincere about honouring the people's sentiment, it should bring forward the proposal to carve out Telangana state. We will support it," he said.

The actor chose Telangana heartland to make the much-awaited announcement. Jagityal falls under Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency represented by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao.

The megastar is the latest politician to join the Telangana bandwagon.
The main opposition Telugu Desam party has already made a U-turn and announced its support for Telangana cause in the hope of striking an alliance with TRS, a major force in the region.

The Left parties have also held talks with TRS on possible poll pact, though a final decision is yet to be taken.

On its part, the TRS is faced with a dilemma on whether to align with TDP or the fledgling Praja Rajyam Party. The TRS and Left parties are said to be keen on assessing the impact of Chiranjeevi's road show in Telangana before deciding on the poll tie-ups.
While Communist Party of India-Marxist is strongly opposed to bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, CPI is favourably inclined to separate Telangana state.

The ruling Congress, which had fought the 2004 elections in alliance with TRS and Left parties, has been maintaining that it is making efforts to achieve a political consensus on the issue and that the final decision has been left to the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.