'TRS has come a long way since 2001 when it was founded'

From being an outfit formed in 2001 to fight for a separate Telangana, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti has now become an unquestionable political force, its working president K T Rama Rao said Saturday.

"In 2001, it was an organisation, a party that took up a movement for a separate state of Telangana. In 2014, the aim of the movement was achieved and Telangana was formed," he said while speaking at the 18th founding day celebrations of the TRS at the party headquarters here.

Later, the TRS emerged as a full-fledged political party and was now an unquestionable political force, said Rao, son of party president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Speaking on the occasion, the TRS president said it had a few thousand supporters in 2001, but its membership now ran into lakhs. A lot more still needed to be done, he said.

Rama Rao recalled that TRS has come a long way under the leadership of Chandrasekhar Rao since 2001 when there were doubts over the formation of Telangana.

Observing that the party had obtained 50 per cent of votes in the assembly elections held in December last, he said he was confident of TRS winning 16 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the present general elections.

He exuded confidence that TRS would bag a lions share of the ongoing Zilla Parishad and other local body elections.

Though the foundation day celebrations should have been held on a large-scale, they were being held at a low-key, as per the directive of the party president, as the model code of conduct for elections is in force.

The foundation day celebrations would be organised on a grand scale, with the consent of the party president after it wins the rural local body polls, he said.

Alleging that opposition parties were always waiting for an opportunity to defame the government, Rama Rao said the Chandrasekhar Rao's leadership would, however, steer the party to greater heights.

TRS was formed in 2001 by K Chandrasekhar Rao, who was then a leader in the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

He had then quit TDP and also the post of the deputy speaker of the Assembly.