Telangana first, Poll pact next: KCR

Hyderabad: Even as the Congress is making overtures to the TRS for an electoral alliance, the separatist party chief K Chandrasekhara Rao on Tuesday said the question does not arise unless the Congress passes the Telangana bill in Parliament and creates the new state.

Replying to a question at a news conference on whether there is any possibility of Congress and TRS coming together, KCR said: 'I have made it clear in the past. Let the Telangana state be created first. We can think about electoral alliance later,' Chandrasekhara Rao said.

Not very long ago, former PCC president D Srinivas hoped that the TRS would have an alliance with the Congress. He described KCR as having great regard for Sonia Gandhi.

The TRS chief felt that the no-confidence motion notice given by TDP, Congress and YSRC MPs against the UPA in Lok Sabha would be of no consequence.

'It is a futile attempt by some Seemandhra MPs. Nothing is going to come out of it,' Chandrasekhara Rao said, exuding confidence that the process of Telangana formation cannot be halted or derailed.

'The talk of majority opinion in the Assembly going against division smacks of chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy's lack of knowledge of the Constitution.

The Constituent Assembly conferred powers on the Centre under Article 3 to create new states so that the interests of minority population in a region could be safeguarded,' Chandrasekahra Rao said, stressing that before long Telangana state would be created.

Chandrasekhara Rao was angry with the Seemandhra MPs for giving the no-trust notice to the Speaker. 'Let them stop these tricks and not mislead their own people and sow seeds of discord between the two states.

It would be in their own interest if they are friends with us since we would be the upper riparian state. If they come for a showdown, we are not going to lose anything. In fact, it is they who would stand to lose,' Chandrasekhara Rao said.

Releasing copies of the letter he has written to the prime minister on provisions in the Telangana draft bill that are against the interests of Telangana state, KCR said he would fight till the end.

'I had the draft bill studied by experts and retired IAS officers and prepared this letter. I will propose amendments to the bill when it is moved in Parliament. I will fight till the last,' he said and wondered why the Seemandhra leaders were making a hue and cry over division of the state though the TRS had, out of concern for Seemandhra, agreed for keeping Seemandhra capital in Hyderabad despite the fact that there is no Constitutional provision for it.

When Andhra state was created, this facility was not extended to them by Rajaji, the then chief minister of composite Madras state, who asked them to vacate Madras in 24 hours.