TRS rules out merger with Congress

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has ruled out a merger with the Congress . An unanimous resolution to this effect was adopted by the party's politburo at a marathon meeting here on Monday.

TRS has formed a five-member committee to decide about any electoral alliances with the Congress or other political parties.

The decision is being considered as a setback to the Congress, which had been banking on TRS support to garner more Parliament seats from Telangana, even as it is set to lose ground in coastal Andhra and the Rayalaseema region following its decision to bifurcate the state.

TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao cited several reasons for going back on his earlier stance of a merger if the ruling party at the Centre accorded separate statehood to the Telangana region.

He said the Congress leadership had not "conceded a single point of us" while formulating the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2013.

"They have accorded special category status" to residual Andhra Pradesh but not to Telangana which deserved the same status. "We did not want the Andhra Bhavan property in Delhi to be split but the demand has not been considered," he said.