Chiru dares alliance

BY J.R.PRASAD
Hyderabad, Feb. 9: The Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi on Monday dared the leaders of the Telugu Desam-led Mahakutami to give a joint statement on Telangana if they were really committed to the cause of a separate state.He told mediapersons that all the parties in the grand alliance including the Telangana Rashtra Samiti had joined hands only to grab power, despite their ideological differences.It was a “deceptive alliance” (Mayakutami), and people of Telangana would give it a fitting rebuff, said the Praja Rajyam chief.He further wanted to know why the TD, which earlier said the Praja Rajyam was not its rival, was running television advertisements against it.Chiranjeevi said the first list of the party candidates for the polls would be announced by the end of this month.The Praja Rajyam election planning committee chairman, Mr Ch. Harirama Jogaiah, said it would not give tickets to those with criminal record.Meanwhile, the Mahakutami has decided to organise a mammoth public meeting in the last week of February.The Opposition alliance is planning to mobilise about 20 lakh people for the grand show, where the programmes and policies will be explained.