Saturday, March 18 2006 14:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hyderabad: Coming out in support of the demand for separate Telangana state, the BJP today(Mar 18,2006) said it would formulate the next course of action during the party's national executive meeting scheduled to be held in May.

"We are fully positive about Telangana state. However, the initiative for formation of the new state should come from the UPA government," BJP President Rajnath Singh told reporters here today.

He accused Congress and its pre-poll ally Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) of 'betraying the people of Telangana' after getting their mandate in the 2004 elections.

"The Congress and TRS had promised to create Telanganastate and the Common Minimum Programme of the UPA Government also talks about the statehood issue. But they have failed to bring in a bill on Telangana even two years after coming to power," Singh, who is on his first visit to the city after taking over the reins of the party, said.

Stating that BJP's Andhra Pradesh unit had passed 'unambigious resolutions' in the past favouring Telangana statehood and had recently reiterated its position, he said the central leadership was also 'fully positive' about the issue.

Asked whether his party would take initiative in introducing a bill in Parliament on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the BJP Chief said, "How can we do that? It is for the UPA government to do it. When BJP forms the government, we will create Telangana state."

On why his party-led NDA government did not take up the issue when in power, Singh pointed out that Telangana was not part of the CMP then.