Hyderabad, Mar 13 (IANS): Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC), which is spearheading the movement for separate Telangana state, has expelled main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
The decision was taken late Friday at a JAC meeting attended by its convenor M. Kodandaram, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhara Rao, party ideologue Jayashankar and representatives of Telangana employees' association.
JAC convenor Kodandaram told reporters after midnight that TDP was expelled as its legislators failed to resign in line with the JAC decision.
However, the arrest of JAC leaders during the visit of TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu to Mahabubnagar district and the recent attack by party activists on pro-Telangana lawyers triggered the expulsion.
Kodandaram alleged that Naidu was acting in an undemocratic fashion by refusing to apologise for the attack on lawyers and also getting the JAC leaders arrested during his visit. "The TDP leaders from Telangana have also failed to speak out against this attitude of Naidu," he said.
The JAC had last month called upon all elected representatives from Telangana to quit to protest terms of reference of the Srikrishna panel formed by the central government.
The JAC says that the terms of reference of five-member committee were not favourable for formation of the Telangana state.
Except all 10 legislators of TRS and one of BJP, no other legislator has resigned.
With the expulsion of TDP, the JAC now has only TRS and BJP as its political constituents. Ruling Congress party leaders from Telangana had last month quit JAC while accusing Kodandaram of taking unilateral decisions at the behest of TRS.
Meanwhile, TDP leader from Telangana, Venugopala Chary criticised JAC's decision saying it was taken under pressure from TRS. He said TDP legislators were ready to resign for creating a constitutional crisis but not for causing by-elections. "If Congress legislators had resigned we would also have submitted our resignations," he said.
The TDP leaders from Telangana will hold a meeting Saturday to chalk out their future course of action.
The JAC was formed by all political and non-political groups from Telangana after the central government made a second statement Dec 23 calling for wider consultations over Telangana issue. They had alleged that central government had gone back on its Dec 9 statement to initiate the process for formation of Telangana state.