Hyderabad: Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhara Rao on Saturday asserted that Hyderabad would be the capital of the proposed Telangana state, and rejected suggestions of making it a shared capital with Andhra Pradesh.
Rao, whose 11-day hunger strike forced the Central Government to agree to the demand for a Telangana state, told NDTV news channel that Hyderabad cannot be made a joint capital on the lines of Chandigarh.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said: "Hyderabad can't be compared with Chandigarh. It is not a new bifurcation. Telangana state existed earlier with Hyderabad as capital while Andhra state had Kurnool as its capital."
KCR also pointed out that Hyderabad is geographically located in Telangana. "How can they (Andhra) claim Hyderabad. Does it make any sense?" he asked.
The TRS chief also assured people of other regions of Andhra Pradesh settled in Hyderabad that they could continue to live here in peace after the formation of the new state.
He also said there was no question of going back on a separate Telangana state, and added that the protests in other regions against it were stage managed and sponsored by vested interests who had invested money and acquired lands illegally in Hyderabad.
KCR said passing a resolution in the state Assembly was not necessary to carve out Telangana. He said he had full faith in United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that they would take the necessary measures for formation of the state.
"I have lot of faith in Sonia Gandhi. And Manmohan Singhji, who is at the helm of affairs today, is a fairly good person. Having made an announcement on behalf of the Government of India, it is up to them to solve the problem," Rao told the channel.
Rao said he had been invited to New Delhi for talks.
"They have invited me to Delhi for talks soon after my recovery. I said that I can come only after a week or 10 days. I am not even able to come out of my residence. I with difficulty went to the balcony and waved to the people," Rao said.
"Hyderabad is such a place ... such a good society. It allows everybody, absorbs everybody," said Rao.
"In Hyderabad, not just Andhras, but Maharashtrians, Kannadigas and Kayasths from north India live."
He accused the Andhra Pradesh people of "exploiting" the employment opportunities of Telangana region.
"Ultimately our people were pushed to go to the Gulf countries. The agony of Telangana is that 35,000 Telanganas are in jails in Gulf countries," Rao said.
"Why should Telangana suffer. And Hyderabad city?" he asked.
"We used to have an airport much before the formation of AP (Andhra Pradesh). All railway stations we have today have been constructed by the Nizam. All the hospitals, educational institutions have been built by the Nizam," Rao said.
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