No question of TRS merging with Congress: KCR

[caption id="attachment_7449" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="KCR-Telangana"][/caption]

News courtesy: Andhra Jyothi
Hyderabad, Feb 7 : Dismissing a senior Congress leader's proposal of a merger with it as "joke of the year", TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao today ruled out any such possibility.

"TRS is not a cinema party (like Praja Rajyam). We are a very strong party. Leaders and workers from other parties are joining TRS like a flood. TRS is born to achieve separate Telangana. If such proposals are made without realising separate Telangana, it would be stupid. This is joke of the year," he said.

Asked if he would merge TRS with Congress if it promised separate Telangana, he said no such proposal has come and that the question was hypothetical.

He was asked about comments of Congress Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao that TRS would also merge with Congress like Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam.

The TRS chief said he planned to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi ahead of the Budget session of Parliament to appeal to them for introducing a bill for the formation of separate Telangana.

Asked about the merger of Praja Rajyam with Congress, he said he is happy about that as a party that opposed the cause of separate Telangana was now gone.

"Till the other day, Chiranjeevi stood for united Andhra Pradesh. But now, he himself said he will abide by the decision of the high command and Centre," Rao said. Meanwhile, Rao announced postponement of blocking the Vijayawada-Hyderabad national highway till next month as the state government released over Rs 100 crore for the welfare of weavers.

Demanding release of over Rs 300 crore as promised, the TRS had earlier threatened to block the highway on February 9 and also observe Telangana bandh on February 10.

"The government should immediately release the balance amount also. The government should also set up a procurement centre for weavers in Hyderabad and provide health insurance cards and subsidies to the weavers," he said.

Rao took exception to the alleged arrest of party MLA D Vinay Bhaskar in Warangal ahead of the chief minister's visit for 'Rachabanda' (village junction) mass-contact programme and demanded his immediate release.