TRS rubbishes reports of merger with Congress

Political circles were abuzz in Hyderabad on Tuesday over media reports that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi would be merged with Congress as a quid pro quo for formation of separate Telangana.

The reports were, however, rejected angrily by TRS leaders, including party president K Chandrasekhar Rao, who said there is absolutely no question of merger of the regional outfit with the ruling Congress.

The reports quoted Chandrasekhar Rao as having said in a meeting with some Multi System Operators on Monday that Congress wants merger of TRS with it in return for Telangana formation.

The Centre is likely to take a call on the Telangana issue in June, the reports said.

"The reports are 100 per cent false and the TRS would remain as an independent party even after the formation of Telangana state," TRS MLA and Chandrasekhar Rao's nephew T Harish Rao said.

TRS politburo member N Narasimha Reddy alleged that some channels were spreading misinformation about the party as per a conspiracy to defame Chandrasekhar Rao.

Asserting that the reports of merger with Congress were "totally false", Chandrasekhar Rao made an appeal to the media not to spread incorrect stories.

However, this is not the first time that reports of merger of TRS with Congress have surfaced.

Responding to the comments of a Congress MP at a meeting few months ago, the TRS president had indicated that he is ready for the merger.

He had said he is ready to wash the feet of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for formation of separate Telangana. He, however, later said the media had misquoted him.

Meanwhile, balladeer Gaddar, who also fights for separate Telangana, said the people would not tolerate if any attempts are made to mislead or dilute the "Telangana movement".

Responding to the reports, Congress MP from Telangana G Sukhender Reddy said issues like merger are not made public until it takes a concrete shape even if there is any such move.