Congress responsible for death of Telangana protagonists: KTR

Minister KTR said the Congress party was responsible for the death of hundreds of Telangana protagonists. It was the Congress party which formed Andhra Pradesh by forcefully merging Telangana and Andhra regions in 1956

Jagtial: IT Minister KT Rama Rao said the Congress party was responsible for the death of hundreds of Telangana protagonists. It was the Congress party which formed Andhra Pradesh by forcefully merging Telangana and Andhra regions in 1956.

Congress had also shot dead 378 Telangana sympathizers during the 1968 separate State agitation. In 1971, out of 14 MPs, Telangana people elected 11 MPs who contested on behalf of Telangana Prajasamithi and sent them to the Parliament under the leadership of Marri Chenna Reddy.

---

However, the Congress humiliated the Telangana agitation by taking them into its fold. Congress was also responsible for the death of 1,200 people by dragging the Telangana formation issue till 2014 by promising it in 2004, Rama Rao said at the Pragathi Nivedhana Sabha in Dharmapuri on Tuesday.

The Congress, which struggled to give even Rs.200 as pension, was now promising Rs 4,000 as pension if it was elected to power. People would again be cheated in the hands of the Congress if it was voted to power, he said, adding that the K Chandrashekar Rao government was providing Rs.2,016 as pension to 4.26 lakh beedi workers, when no other State was doing this though there were beedi workers in 16 States.