TRS accuses Centre of short shrift, to raise issues in Parl

Telangana Rashtra Samithi would raise a string of issues like division of high court, granting national status to irrigation projects and drought relief in forthcoming session of Parliament even as it accused the Centre of meting out a "raw deal" to the youngest state. "The Centre is giving a raw deal to Telangana. They dropped Central schemes, but we cannot drop. We are implementing them from Budget. National status was promised (to some irrigation projects). We wanted to focus (on) six, seven issues," TRS Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao told reporters here. TRS MPs today called upon the party president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao here and discussed the issues to be raised in the session, beginning November 26. A government release stated that Rao has suggested party MPs to raise the issues including division of high court, national highways in the state and according national status to irrigation projects. TRS has been demanding the division of High Court between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh following bifurcation last year. TRS MP K Kavitha, daughter of CM, had earlier alleged that the NDA government has not been too helpful with regard to the demands made by the state government. She had expressed unhappiness with the NDA government over allocation of institutes of higher learning, release of funds to the newly-carved out state since its formation in June last year. Another MP Jitender Reddy said the TRS would raise the issue of setting up an AIIMS-like institution in the state and the drought relief of Rs 500 crore.