Date:10/05/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/05/10/stories/2004051004600400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

KCR to drum up support for Congress

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, MAY 9. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, has turned his attention to national politics to cobble up support of small parties to help the Congress win the numbers game and form the Government when the Lok Sabha is constituted.

He told presspersons here on Sunday that he would be in Delhi on May 14 evening, a day after the counting of votes for Lok Sabha polls to play an `active role' in the formation of the Congress Government at Centre.

The Congress coming to power was important for the TRS to get a resolution on the Statehood for Telangana adopted by Parliament.

Formation of a new State was the `territorial jurisdiction' of the Union Government as per Constitutional provisions. A full 15-member Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court had approved the bifurcation of Gujarat from Maharashtra through a resolution of Parliament. It had disapproved of a resolution in this regard in the Maharashtra Assembly. "So, whoever demands a resolution in the State Assembly for the formation of a new State will be doing so at the risk of inviting the contempt of the Supreme Court," he said.

Mr. Rao termed "rotten and silly" the rumours that he was interested in a Congress leader from Telangana becoming the Chief Minister. He was more interested in lobbying for the Congress at the Centre in the interests of Telangana, particularly in the present scenario when the party was likely to come to power in a photo finish. "I am least interested who becomes the Chief Minister. As long as the Congress keeps up its promise on Telangana, all others matter little for us," he remarked.

Forecasting speedy event-by-event political developments once the counting of votes is taken up, Mr. Rao said the importance of TRS would shift from the State Capital to Delhi subsequently as what the All-India Congress Committee did in the matter of Telangana was crucial. He would spend May 12 to 14 holding the legislature party meeting and electing its leader, appointing the whip and getting the whip issued through him, a job which would assume a lot of importance if a hung Assembly were to be elected. The Election Commission had clarified to him that the TRS could issue a whip to its members like any other recognised party once a gazette notification on the constitution of the House was published. The identity of TRS would be restored in the notification.

Mr. Rao said he was already in touch with the MDMK leader, Vaiko, and the Lok Dal chief, Omprakash Chautala, in an effort to muster support for the Congress in the Lok Sabha. A major chunk of the 90 to 110 seats predicted for parties other than the BJP and the Congress with their allies in the exit polls would come from pro-Congress parties, he said adding that it was in this situation that the role of TRS was enhanced.