Centre's decision to create Telangana a 'conspiracy': BJP

Commenting on the ongoing protest against the creation of Telangana, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday said that the Centre's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh appears to be a conspiracy, and added that the three states created under BJP's regime saw no such tension.

"The conditions which have born out of this bifurcation seem like a conspiracy of the ruling Congress party. It all depends on political consensus, whether you are conspiring or you actually want to do some good," he said.

"We (BJP) also created three new states during our tenure. At that time when we divided Chattisgarh, there were no such tensions in Madhya Pradesh. When we created Jharkhand, again there were no such tensions in Bihar. Even during Uttarakhand's creation, there were no problems in Uttar Pradesh," he added.

Another BJP leader Kirti Azad, echoing similar sentiments, said that the Congress has failed miserably to manage the issue of Telanaga, which has led to widespread protests in the state.

"During the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, our government also created new states and after the creation, people celebrated with 'laddoos' and there was happiness all around. But this time, the

Congress has mismanaged the whole situation," he said.

Earlier in the day, YSR Congress Party Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy continued his indefinite hunger strike against the creation of a separate state for Telangana for the second day on Sunday.

Earlier, expressing deep anguish over the arbitrary bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Reddy has blamed Congress President Sonia Gandhi for the "crisis" in the state and accused her of exploiting sentiments of people to pave way for Rahul Gandhi to become prime minister.

"Sonia Gandhi is responsible for the crisis in the state and she has been playing with the sentiments of the people with the singular motive of seeing to it that her son Rahul Gandhi is made Prime Minister," he told media at the Lotus Pond camp office where he began his indefinite fast on Saturday demanding the Centre to review its decision of bifurcating the State.

He further appealed to Sonia Gandhi to reconsider the decision, as creating a new state would badly affect the future generations of one region.

"The motive of the division could be political but Delhi cannot play with the sentiments of the people of one region. I once again appeal to the Centre to roll back its decision on division," he said, adding that BJP should also take a call on the issue and stand up for a united state.

Reddy earlier said his party would approach the Supreme Court, and ask it to tell the Centre to withdraw its arbitrary decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, curfew has been clamped In Vizianagaram following violence with mobs indulging in large scale destruction and arson during their demonstrations opposing the union cabinet's decision to bifurcate the state.

The pro-united Andhra demonstrations turned violent on the second day yesterday of the 72-hour shutdown.