Congress failed to control emotions on Telengana: BJP

The BJP Monday accused the Congress of failing to control the emotions of the people of Andhra Pradesh as far as the creation of a separate state of Telangana was concerned.

"I take part in this discussion with a heavy heart. My party had taken a principled decision after discussing the issue threadbare and also the various aspects of the division of the state and creation of Telangana," Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said during a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the creation of Telangana.

Naidu said the government needs to understand the situation in Andhra Pradesh and should try and evolve some response to the current situation.

"I would like to know from the home minister whether the government and the Congress had done enough home work," he asked.

Asserting that investment in Andhra Pradesh has suffered due to the statehood issue, he said: "We were marching forward. But in the last ten years there is no investment coming."

"The Congress party not only failed to control its leaders but also failed to control the emotions. The government should address the fears and concerns of the people," he said.

Two more Andhra Pradesh ministers on Monday submitted resignations in protest against the decision to create Telangana by dividing Andhra Pradesh. Over 3.5 lakh state government employees are set to launch an indefinite strike in 13 Seemandhra districts in protest against the division of the state.

Participating in the discussion, TDP MP from Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Chowdhary said: "the manner in which this decision was taken is very different".

"No legislators have been taken into confidence," he said adding that when the division of the state was unavoidable, then why did the Congress not take all stakeholders into confidence.

Assam MP Biswajit Daimary, belonging to the Bodoland People's Front (BPF), favoured a new state reorganization commission.

"The new report would be considered for creating states. Then there can be a solution to this (demand for new states) problem," he said.