Federal Front may consider taking Congress support: TRS leader

By Mohammed Shafeeq

Hyderabad, May 14 (IANS) The Federal Front proposed by Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao may consider taking Congress support, if necessary, to form a government at the Centre, a leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) said on Tuesday.

TRS spokesman Abid Rasool Khan told IANS that they were confident that the Federal Front, comprising non-BJP and non-Congress parties, will get the numbers to form the government on its own.

"We are confident that we will get the numbers to form the government but if we are short of numbers and Congress wants to extend outside support we will consider," said Khan, who believes a consensus candidate among Federal Front partners will be the next Prime Minister.

He, however, ruled out either taking the support of BJP or extending support to it to form the government.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, had mooted the idea of non-BJP and non-Congress front last year and since held talks with leaders of various regional parties.

The TRS chief on Monday met M.K. Stalin, leader of DMK, an ally of the Congress, to discuss the Federal Front. Last week, he held talks with his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan.

"These meetings prompted the whole country to talk about the Federal Front. We are meeting people, talking to them and trying to explain why we want this. After that it is their choice whether they want to come with us or not," said Khan, who quit the Congress late last year.

He was confident that parties like Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Trinamool Congress and YSR Congress besides TRS will come together to form the Federal Front. He hoped that many parties from other parts of the country will join them.

"Once we have the numbers on board, more people will definitely accept the idea and join us. Everybody would want to have stake in government for development of their states and would see this as a viable idea," said Khan.

The TRS leader claimed that KCR was not vying for the post of Prime Minister.

"He is doing this in the interest of the country. The country is today heading towards anarchy. The way BJP is acting it has definitely sabotaged the interests of the country. The Congress during its 60-year-rule did nothing for minorities and Dalits. KCR is of the opinion that we should form Federal Front and take charge in Delhi," Khan added.