TRS chief all set to pull out of UPA

Hyderabad: After resigning from the Union cabinet and Lok Sabha membership, the Telangana Rasthra Samithi (TRS) supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao is all set to pull out of the Congress-led UPA.

"I will be submitting a letter to the President (A P J Abdul Kalam) conveying my party's decision to withdraw from the UPA," Rao said on Saturday.

He would visit New Delhi on September 20 or 23 to meet Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and explain the reasons that prompted him to quit his Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat.

During this visit, the former Union Minister would also call on the President and "complete the formality of parting ways with the Congress".

Firmly ruling out reconsidering his decision, Rao, who had sent in his resignation letter to Lok Sabha Speaker on September 12, said the by-election to Karimnagar would be a referendum on Telangana statehood issue and would mark the downfall of the ruling Congress.

Rao's assertion about his imminent exit from UPA comes against the backdrop of efforts by Congress high command to mollify him and prevent the break-up.

Getting into a damage-control mode after Rao's resignation move, AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy repeatedly asserted that TRS was still a part of UPA.

"Even at this stage, if Congress leadership comes up with an assurance on Telangana state within a timeframe, I will withdraw my resignation," Rao said. Stating that there was a "huge undercurrent of Telangana sentiment", Rao accused the Congress of betraying the people of the region by backtracking on its promise of granting statehood.

Savouring reports of outpouring of public support to the sub-regional party ever since his resignation, the TRS president said the day was not far away when people would teach a fitting lesson to Congress.

"The Karimnagar by-poll will provide a triggering point for the statehood struggle to gather momentum," he said.

However, Rao is not keen on joining hands with BJP, which had recently come out in support of demand for separate state.

In his assessment, the TRS would be the rallying point for the aspirations of Telangana people.

The mood in the TRS camp is upbeat ever since their leader made the daring move that caught the ruling Congress off-guard and triggered resignations by two state Ministers M Satyanarayana Rao and Mohammad Ali Shabbir in response to the challenge thrown by Rao.

The Congress high command, however, cautioned restraint and asked the state party leaders not to precipitate the matters further.

Rao, along with his deputy A Narendra, had quit the UPA Cabinet on August 22 to protest against the government's "failure" to initiate the process for creation of Telangana state.

The TRS, which has five MPs and 26 MLAs, had contested the 2004 election in alliance with Congress.