A group of Congress MPs from State on Tuesday, embarrassed their party leadership by raising the demand for a separate Telangana state in the Lok Sabha. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party said it was willing to support the statehood bill, if the government brought it to parliament. Congress MPs were up on their feet in the Lok Sabha for over 20 minutes, soon after the Question Hour was over and demanded that they be allowed to raise the Telangana issue.

They did not relent despite Home Minister Chidambaram and Minister Narayanasamy urging them to return to their seats. While the Zero Hour was in progress, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj backed the MPs who demanded a separate Telangana state, saying it was justified. The Congress MPs returned to their seats only after Speaker Meira Kumar assured them that, they would be allowed to raise the issue in the Lok Sabha provided they served a notice.

Published Date : Wednesday, 23/2/2011 5:30 PM IST