TRS rules out merger with Congress

Telangana Rashtra Samiti President K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday ruled out the possibility of his party merging with the Congress. After the merger of Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress on Sunday, rumours were abuzz that the TRS will do the same.  

"The TRS joining the Congress is the biggest joke of the year," KCR said when asked about reports in a section of local media that senior Congress leader K Keshav Rao was going to meet him with a proposal of merger.

"There is no such proposal," the TRS president told reporters. "We in fact have been asking Congress leaders from Telangana to quit the party and make political sacrifice to achieve statehood," he added.

When asked if the TRS will merge with Congress when Telangana state was formed, KCR said that his party had twin objectives -- forming Telangana state and rebuilding Telangana. "Rumours of TRS merging with the Congress are being spread to created confusion among people," he said. 

KCR also said the PRP-Congress merger was a positive development in the fight for Telangana. "One more party advocating a united Andhra Pradesh is done away with. Chiranjeevi is the president of the PRP, but he has said that he will abide by the decision of the Congress high command on the Telangana issue."

KCR also warned that if the United Progressive Alliance government does not introduce the Telangana bill in the budget session of Parliament, a massive non-cooperation movement will be launched that will bring the state to a grinding halt.