Hyderabad: Congress’s star campaigner for Telangana Assembly election, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, used the state forum to appease both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. While speaking about party plans for Telangana, she also reminded their commitment towards providing special status to Andhra Pradesh during an election rally at Medchal in Telangana.

With election scheduled for December 7 in Telangana, Sonia Gandhi lashed out at Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government, saying it neglected dalits, tribals, minorities, women and students with chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao working only for himself and those close to him.

However, while mentioning the special category status, Gandhi did not make any reference to the promises made to Telangana at the time of bifurcation that have not been implemented yet. Congress had promised to set up a railway coach factory at Kazipet, steel plant at Bayyaram and ITIR at Hyderabad under the P Reorganisation Act.

“When the decision to form Telangana was taken, we were also concerns about people of Andhra Pradesh and announced Special Category Status for the state. I assure people of Andhra Pradesh that Congress will keep its commitment on this issue,” Sonia Gandhi stated, as reported by Telangana Today. 

Apart from this, Sonial Gandhi also said that the development that was expected following the creation of Telangana did not happen under Chandrashekhar Rao.

"Chief minister Rao has cared only for himself and his own people leaving the child (Telangana) to suffer," she said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who also addressed the rally, said the TRS rule in Telangana was all set to end.

"Dalits, adivasis, minorities, backward classes, women and students were all neglected. The chief minister should tell us what promises he made to them, which he thoroughly fulfilled," Sonia Gandhi said, while visiting Telangana for the first time since the state's creation in June 2014.