Chhattisgarh CM promises support to separate Telangana state

Hyderabad, Feb 12 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has promised support to a separate state of Telangana if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power in the 2014 general elections.

Asserting that he was aware of the pain endured by the people in their ongoing battle for a separate state, he blamed the Central Government for the delay in the formation of Telengana.

Addressing a large crowd here on Saturday, Singh said: "In 1997, the BJP had decided that a separate state must be carved and the issue of Telangana was also discussed. You all have endured so much suffering, you have faced so many hardships and the government in Delhi is forming different committees and commissions."

"In the history of India, there has been not been the formation of so many committees and commissions for the creation of a state " he added.

Singh further said that the BJP was committed to the development of the smaller states, stating that the three states carved out during his party's rule have been flourishing.

"I want to say this today because Chhattisgarh was created by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 200, three states were carved out, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. I have completed eight years as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and I am stepping into the ninth year," said Singh.

"But the people who want to prove that small states cannot be successful, I want to tell Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh who are in Delhi that Chhattisgarh is an example of how small states can prove to be successful and then you can talk about Telangana," he added.

Meanwhile, Singh lashed out at the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for their deep involvement in several scams, and added that their priority is to conceal their flaws instead of working for the greater good of society.

"The ministers in Delhi do not have the time, the money that went in the 2G scam, half of the people are in jail and half of them are in bail and others are worried about how they are going to be punished. Tihar jail has lack of space now," said Singh.

"The people responsible in the Commonwealth Games scam have been unable to come out of jail, now the situation is such that the Tihar jail is proving to be small because most of the ministers are imprisoned," he added. (ANI)