No evidence to show UPA worked against Telangana
TRS suggested Pulichintala's location further downstream
GO on survey of Pranahita water unjust
YSR ignores his assurance in Assembly on GO 610

HYDERABAD July 05 2005: After resigning from the Rajasekhara Reddy Cabinet, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Ministers declared that they would take to the path of agitation to secure Statehood for Telangana.

They told reporters at the Raj Bhavan after submitting their resignations to the Governor that they would intensify the movement for separate Telangana.

They said the TRS did not quit the UPA Government `immediately' as it had no evidence to show that it was working against the interest of Telangana.

Mr. G. Vijayarama Rao (Civil Supplies) who articulated the views of all the Ministers said the State Government in which they participated for a year took several anti-Telangana measures which drove them to resign. The location of Pulichintala project, which was among the main issues of the movement, was sought to be changed by the TRS but the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, gave a deaf ear to them. The TRS had suggested a location downstream of Pulichintala so that the convergence of Krishna with its tributaries, Paleru, Musi and Munneru, could be beneficial to Telangana but this was turned down.

Similarly, the recent GO issued to survey utilisation of only 50 tmcft water as against an availability of 200 tmcft in Pranahita went against the interests of Telangana. Another decision to release water from Nagarjunasagar to the Krishna delta deprived the farmers of Telangana.

`Fake' encounters

Mr. Rao said the TRS was agitated at the stepped up `fake' encounters following the breakdown of talks. The party favoured peace talks with the Naxalites before and after elections but the Government aborted them.

The Government also failed to honour a promise made by the Chief Minister in the Assembly to implement GO 610.

In not a single Government department, the non-local employees were repatriated as promised by Dr. Reddy.

He also said that in spite of all these violations by the Government, the TRS Ministers had never behaved in a manner as to lower the prestige of Dr. Reddy. On the other hand, he considered it a "waste of time" to discuss about TRS Ministers' move to quit the Cabinet.