Wednesday, April 19 2006 14:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hyderabad: Senior BJP leader L K Advani today (Apr 19, 2006)attacked the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for 'failing' to take steps towards formation of a separate Telangana state and said his party was committed to the cause.

"We are committed to supporting Telangana cause. But it is for the Government to bring forward the bill. It is they (Congress) who had promised Telangana state and failed to fulfil it. Why are they pushing the blame on us now," he told a press conference here before resuming his 'Bharat Suraksha Yatra' which entered the naxalite-hit Telangana region amidst tight security.

Asking the Government to introduce the bill for formation of Telangana state in the coming session of Parliament, Advani said his party would support it.

Though BJP was the first party to favour statehood for Telangana when its state unit passed a resolution to this effect in the run-up to the 1998 elections, it had kept the issue on the back-burner while in power at the Centre in return for the support from its then-crucial ally TDP which is strongly opposed to the bifurcation of the state.

After ending its seven-year alliance with TDP, BJP has revived the Telangana card in a bid to regain its lost ground in the backward region.

On the 10th day of his yatra today, Advani would address a series of meetings in Medak, Nizamabad and Adilabad districts and pass through Maoist stronghold areas where security has been beefed up.

The Leader of Opposition is also expected to address roadside meetings covering the assembly segments of Medchel, Ramayampet, Kamareddy, Armoor, Nirmal and Adilabad.