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Hyderabad: Congress in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday suffered a jolt as three of its leaders, including two MPs, from Telangana region announced their decision to join Telangana Rashtra Samiti accusing the ruling party of having "failed to keep its word" on the creation of Telangana state.
Peddapalli MP G Vivekananda and Nagarkurnool MP Manda Jagannatham former MP K Keshava Rao and former minister G Vinod will join TRS at a public meeting here on June 2, according to TRs MLA K T Rama Rao.
However, Congress appears to have succeeded in retaining two other MPs who were also tipped to quit the party and switch over to TRS.
Congress has 12 MPs in the Telangana region of whom three are in the Union Cabinet. Of the 12, seven were known protagonists of Telangana. They had defied the party on many occasions and staged protests in Parliament on Telangana issue.
Though the likes of Ponnam Prabhakar, Madhu Yashki Goud, Gutta Sukhender Reddy and Komatireddi Rajagopal Reddy are still in the forefront demanding a separate state, they have decided to stay on in the party and "achieve Telangana" statehood.
TRS had claimed at least 6-8 MPs and 15-20 MLAs from Congress and other parties would jump to its side.
The four Congress leaders' move did not come as a surprise as there had been speculation for many months about their plans.
The Congress high command has remained totally cold to the May 30 deadline set by the four leaders for the party to announce its decision on Telangana.
Emerging from a three-hour meeting with TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao at Vivekanandas residence this evening, Keshava Rao said they waited for ten long years for the formation of Telangana state.
