Nationalist Congress Party president and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Monday declared full support to Telangana Rashtra Samithi's demand for a separate Telangana state.
Pawar, who was in Hyderabad on his way to Warangal to participate in a rally-cum-public meeting organised by the TRS on Monday evening in Warangal town, told newsmen, "Our party is supporting the separate Telangana demand. The NCP Working Committee had taken a decision in this regard two years ago."
"The United Progressive Alliance's Common Minimum Programme and the Presidential address to Parliament announced support for Telangana," he added.
Pawar explained that the NCP had written a letter to the UPA sub-committee headed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, which will look into the Telangana issue.
"It is our desire that whatever commitment has been given (for separate Telangana) must be fulfilled," Pawar added.
Reminded about UPA's promise to consult political parties to evolve a consensus on the issue and the strong opposition from the Left parties to a separate Telangana state, Pawar said, "In a democracy, we have to convince them. We are confident that we will be able to collectively convince them."
TRS president and Union Labour Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao hosted a lunch for Pawar before they left for Warangal to participate in the public meeting.
Rao claims the support of 30 out of 38 parties represented in Parliament for the separate Telangana state. They include 13 constituents of the UPA such as the NCP, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Pattali Makkal Katchi.
Several NDA constituents as well as other parties such as Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Janata Dal-Secular are also supporting the separate Telangana demand.
The public meeting at Warangal is being organised as a show of strength by the TRS following the pull-out of its six ministers from the Congress government in the state in protest against the anti-Telangana stance and actions of Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.
Besides explaining the reasons for the ministers' resignations, the TRS is utilising the meeting to launch a tirade against Dr Reddy for creating hurdles for the realisation of a separate Telangana state.
The TRS is expected to announce its plan of action for expediting the movement for the creation of separate state.
Rao and Dr Reddy are scheduled to meet in Delhi on July 20 to sort out the grievances of the TRS. The Rao-Reddy meeting is being arranged by the Congress high command.
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