We are sorry for loss of lives during Telangana agitation, says Chidambaram
Hyderabad: Former Union minister P. Chidambaram said on Thursday that the people of Telangana were yearning for change in the upcoming Assembly polls after giving two opportunities to the BRS to form the government. He urged voters to elect the Congress to implement the Six Guarantees.
Addressing a press conference in Gandhi Bhavan on Thursday, Chidambaram said, "A change will bring about a new refreshing outlook to problems. I think the people of Telangana are ready for a change. I am sure that the Telangana Congress leaders have done their homework."
He said that after the Congress forms government, we will also help them generate the revenues to meet the expenditure. “It can be done and we will help them implement the Six Guarantees," Chidambaram said.
Chidambaram said that Telangana state had the highest rate of inflation in the country, more than the national rate. "In fact, it's higher than the national average. The state government's role is to maintain price stability and control inflation. Its role is to facilitate job creation. But the BRS government in Telangana completely failed to control inflation and in creating jobs," he stated.
Chidambaram, who made a statement on the Centre initiating the process of formation of Telangana state on December 9, 2009, also apologised for the loss of lives during the Telangana statehood agitation.
Referring to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao's criticism that the Congress had delayed statehood, due to which hundreds of people lost their lives in the agitation, Chidambaram said creating a state or dividing one was not child's play.
"A suicide is an unfortunate incident. If in the people's movement some people lost their lives in the agitation...we are sorry for that. But you can't hold the then Congress government responsible for that," Chidambaram said.
Chidambaram pointed out that 4,000 suicides were reported in Telangana under the BRS regime in the last nine years and sought to know who was responsible for those unfortunate incidents.
