Probe complaint against Sonia on Telangana issue: Court to cops

Hyderabad: A court in Andhra Pradesh on Monday directed the police to probe allegations brought against Congress President Sonia Gandhi in a complaint which says she "cheated" the people of Telangana on the statehood issue.

Acting on a private complaint filed against Gandhi by state BJP leader Satish Agarwal in a court in January this year, the Malkajgiri Court (in Ranga Reddy district) near here asked the police to investigate it and submit a report. In the petition, the BJP`s State Executive Committee member said the Congress, in its manifesto before the 2004 general elections, had promised to carve a separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh. Gandhi, too, had promised Telangana state at a public meeting in Karimnagar district during an election campaign in 2004, Agarwal said. But despite the Congress coming to power (at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh), the announcement of a decision on Telangana creation was being prolonged, he said. The Congress leaders gave a commitment on granting statehood to the backward region of Andhra Pradesh but the promise has not been fulfilled yet, the BJP leader said. Gandhi was solely responsible for the delay, which has resulted in a spate of suicides in the region, he had claimed. Agarwal had alleged Gandhi "cheated" the people of Telangana with her statements on the statehood issue and sought the court`s direction to the police to investigate into his complaint and file a case against her. PTI