Kolkata: Maoist leader Kishenji has said
Hyderabad is an integral part of Telengana region and the city
should be made the capital of the new state when it comes into
being.
"Hyderabad is a part of Telengana and will stay so. There
is no question of disassociating Hyderabad from Telengana,"
Kishenji, who hails from Telengana, which has a substantial
Naxal presence, told a news agency phone from an undisclosed
location last evening.
Asked why there was so much controversy over Hyderabad,
Kishenji said, "It is because of some retired and existing
bureaucrats who own huge chunks of land in the Greater
Hyderabad region."
"Nearly 40,000 acres of land, a large portion of which is
occupied by vineyards, are in the hands of some retired and
present bureaucrats," Kishenji said.
The Maoist leader expressed support for creation of
Telangana and accused the Congress of "depriving" people of
the region of their legitimate rights by "backtracking" from
its move to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
Battling the backlash against creation of Telangana, the
ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh yesterday appeared to
backpedal the move with Chief Minister K Rosaiah expressing
his inability to take the first step--that of moving a state
Assembly resolution.
Kishenji alleged the Congress does not want to create a
separate state of Telangana and so they are creating
disturbances in the state.
This is not the first time the Congress is going back on
its words, the Maoist leader said, adding, "It had denied the
people of Vidarbha a separate state earlier."
Asked if a new state would solve the problems of the
people of Telangana, he said, "This is a 50-year-old demand.
Many people have laid down their lives for the cause. It is
time the government showed respect to it."
He said a separate Telangana state was required to
protect the culture, religion and language of the people
there.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, December 13, 2009, 17:54