New Delhi:
Following Congress General Secretary in-charge-of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad's report on the Telengana statehood demand, the party is in a bind.
But leaders from the region want answers from the government. Leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrashekhar Rao and members of the Telangana Joint Action Committee staged a sit-in protest at Rajghat. KCR as he is known, is determined not to let his agenda slide off New Delhi's viewfinder.
KCR held a sit-in protest at Rajghat on the day of Gandhi Jayanti in support of the statehood demand. He was joined by hundreds of TRS cadres and supporters of separate statehood for Telangana, who descended upon Rajghat at around 10 am, a few hours after official celebrations to mark Gandhi Jayanti attended by top leaders ended. Rao who has been in town since Friday wants to meet with both the Prime Minister and Opposition BJP leaders.
Speaking to NDTV, Rao said, ''In the recent past the government and police have been very harsh on us. One of our members was almost killed. We came to Rajghat today to struggle non-violently just like the Mahatma.''
''We have sought an appointment with the Prime Minister, we will hopefully get the appointment this evening or tomorrow. Our number one demand to the Prime Minister will be Telangana. The other is to stop attacking our protesters," he added.
TRS leaders said their leader had undertaken the sit-in to highlight their demand for the creation of a Telangana state and to tell the Centre that "time was running out" to take a decision on the issue.
Meanwhile, the general strike in the Telangana region has entered the 20th day today. Normal life in all 10 districts of Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh has been affected.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Congress General Secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, had on Saturday, said more consultations are needed on the issue and that they would need some time. Azad also said it was not an "easy decision" to take.
(With PTI inputs)