Telangana statehood: TRS chief gives all credit to Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi: TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao has given credit for passage of Telangana bill in parliament to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Congress party President Sonia Gandhi. File pic

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader told reporters in the national capital on Thursday night that Gandhi is responsible for the victory of people of Telangana.

"Without her intervention and without her strong commitment towards the issue, Telangana would not have been possible," he said after Rajya Sabha passed the bill by a voice vote.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, thanked the Congress president on behalf of 'four crore people of Telangana'. He plans to meet her personally in a couple of days to thank her.

He also thanked leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and all other parties who supported the bill. "Today I am quite happy that Telangana state has become a reality," the MP said.

"This is not somebody's victory or somebody's defeat. People of Telangana wanted self-respect and self-rule. Today they got it," he said.

KCR assured people of Seemandhra that they can "comfortably" live in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana.

"We have nothing against them. We are Telugu brothers. Let us work together for development of both the states. Let us flourish with mutual respect," he said.