Hyderabad is integral part of Telangana: Maoists

"Hyderabad is a part of Telangana and will stay so. There is no question of disassociating Hyderabad from Telangana," Kishenji, who hails from Telangana, which has a substantial Naxal presence, told PTI over phone from an undisclosed location on Saturday evening.

Asked why there was so much controversy over Hyderabad, Kishenji said, "It is because of some retired and existing bureaucrats who own huge chunks of land in the Greater Hyderabad region."

"Nearly 40,000 acres of land, a large portion of which is occupied by vineyards, are in the hands of some retired and present bureaucrats," Kishenji said.

The Maoist leader expressed support for creation of Telangana and accused the Congress of 'depriving' people of the region of their legitimate rights by 'backtracking' from its move to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.

Battling the backlash against creation of Telangana, the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday appeared to backpedal the move with Chief Minister K Rosaiah expressing his inability to take the first step--that of moving a state assembly resolution.

Kishenji alleged the Congress does not want to create a separate state of Telangana and so they are creating disturbances in the state. This is not the first time the Congress is going back on its words, the Maoist leader said, adding, "It had denied the people of Vidarbha a separate state earlier."

Asked if a new state would solve the problems of the people of Telangana, he said, "This is a 50-year-old demand. Many people have laid down their lives for the cause. It is time the government showed respect to it."

He said a separate Telangana state was required to protect the culture, religion and language of the people there.