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The war of words between the Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti intensified on Sunday with TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao alleging that TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu had foiled the formation of a separate state of Telangana.
"After the Centre made the announcement on December 9 last year that a separate Telangana will be formed, Congress leaders were silent. But it was TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu who hatched a conspiracy to stop the formation of Telangana. He made TDP and Congress MLAs resign en masse," Chandrasekhar Rao said.
He was addressing a gathering at the TRS office in Hyderabad. The voters of Telangana realised the 'true colours' of Naidu and hence they 'taught a lesson' to the TDP in the recent by-polls, he claimed.
Taking exception to the attack on him by TDP leaders, he challenged them to make Naidu submit a report to the Sri Krishna committee in support of the demand for a separate Telangana. The TRS president was responding to the remarks of TDP leaders who wondered why Chandrasekhar Rao never criticised the Congress, which is in power both at the Centre and the state.
"Rao is diluting the Telangana agitation. Why is he praising Congress Member of Parliament from Vijayawada L Rajagopal, who is a staunch supporter of united Andhra Pradesh demand? What did Rao discuss with industrialists with whom he had a meeting recently," TDP leader N Janardhan Reddy and others had asked.
Clarifying on his recent meeting with the 'India CEO Forum' recently, the TRS president said he met the CEOs to clear their apprehensions on the separate Telangana agitation.
"Chandrababu Naidu and other non-Telangana leaders spread a misinformation campaign that Naxalism would grow if the Telangana state is formed. I told the CEOs that it is all wrong. I briefed them on the natural resources, the rainfall and our future vision for Telangana state," he said.
The TRS president said Naxalism would actually come down in Telangana if a separate state is formed, as his party would implement the socio-economic measures being talked about by the Maoists.
"I said this earlier too. Did Naxalites ever stop factories? Naxalism grew in Telangana because of united Andhra Pradesh. If a smaller state is formed, Naxalism would go away. Because we will implement the socio-economic and land distribution measures which are talked about by Naxalites," he said.