Committed to formation of Telangana state: BJP

With hectic activity on in Congress on the Telangana issue, BJP today said it has always been clear about its commitment to the carving out of the new state from Andhra Pradesh while the ruling party has been dilly-dallying on the matter.

'BJP has always been clear about its commitment towards the formation of Telangana. In 2006, BJP President Rajnath Singh- in his earlier tenure as party chief- had said at a rally in Mehboobnagar in Andhra Pradesh that the party supports Telangana,' BJP spokesperson Sudanshu Trivedi said.

He recalled that during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani had made the commitment that it is all for formation of the new state.

'If the NDA is voted to power then just as it had earlier formed the states of Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, it will form the state of Telangana,' Trivedi said.

Asked if the BJP felt Congress is serious this time about formation of Telangana as it has deferred the decision a few times in the past, BJP said its own stand is clear.

'Congress has always dilly-dallied on the issue of Telangana but we have always been very clear about our position,' Trivedi said.