TRS chief begins fast for new state

New Delhi: Telengana Rashtra Samiti President K Chandrasekhara Rao on Wednesday began indefinite fast for formation of separate Telegana state.

TRS on Tuesday pulled out of the UPA Government. In a statement, it said that the Congress has "let down the people of Telengana".

The TRS, which had five members in the Lok Sabha, has decided to go for an indefinite strike from Wednesday.

"Congress accussed us of being an agent of TDP," party sources said.

Earlier on Tuesday, TRS Chief and Union Labour Minister K Chandrasekara Rao and his party colleague in the UPA government A Narendra quit the Union Cabinet.

However, the withdrawl of support may not not affect the stability of the Congress-led coalition, which enjoys the support of about 330 members in the 545-member Lok Sabha.

The TRS has been having an uneasy relationship with the Congress, especially in Andhra Pradesh, where it has already pulled out of the coalition government and withdrew its support to the Rajasekhara Reddy government.

Rao met Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who heads a sub-committee of the coalition on the demand for separate Telengana, and during the interaction the Left parties made clear their strong opposition to the TRS demand.

The TRS has also been unhappy that the UPA coalition had not not taken any concrete steps in implementation of his demand and had last week set a deadline of tonight for quitting the government.