TRS leader Rao ends hunger strike

Chatterjee had on Thursday appealed to Rao to break his fast when the issue was raised by TRS in the House.

TRS chief K Chandrasekara Rao has ended his two-day hunger strike in support of his demand for a separate Telangana state in the wake of an appeal by Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

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Rao ended his fast late on Thursday night after Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar visited him and conveyed the message from the Speaker.

After calling off the fast Rao vowed to intensify the agitation for the formation of a separate Telangana state by mobilising people of the region.

Telanaga Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leaders said the aim of the strike was to "expose Congress who betrayed the cause of Telangana by denying the formation of a separate state."

"Our aim has been achieved. We have told the nation about the double standards of the Congress. The Common Minimum Programme of the UPA favours smaller states. The Congress has changed its stand," TRS General Secretary V Prakash said.

Chatterjee had on Thursday appealed to Rao to break his fast when the issue was raised by TRS members in the House.

Rao had quit as Union Labour Minister on Tuesday demanding a "commitment" from the Congress-led government on carving out a separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh.