TRS to give rest to statehood demand

HYDERABAD: Telangana Joint Action Committee’s constituents seem to have decided to raise issues pertaining to Telangana, rather than the demand for statehood, during the budget session of the Assembly.After the December 9, 2009 statement by Union home minister P Chidambaram, the TRS and the BJP had been utilising the Assembly platform for voicing the demand for a separate Telangana state and even boycotted some sessions demanding implementation of Chidambaram’s assurance.The sudden change in their attitude is on account of the possibility of the Election Commission announcing by-elections for six Assembly seats from the region.This apart, people are not in the mood for another round of agitations.The TRS and TJAC know very well that the UPA will not be making any statement in favour of Telangana in the near future.After taking these factors into consideration, the TJAC and TRS have decided to raise issues relating to problems being faced by the people in Telangana.The TRS has conducted Palle Bata programme in 10 districts recently and several other programmes in the six Assembly constituencies where by-elections are due.The party has prepared a list of issues it wants to raise in the Assembly.TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is touring districts, has also said that the TRS will focus more on people’s issues