Congress seeking to derive political benefit from Telangana: Saugata Roy

KOLKATA: Senior Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy today claimed that the Congress was seeking to derive political benefit in the next Lok Sabha elections by giving consent to statehood for Telangana.

"This is the last phase of the present UPA government and to derive political benefit, the Congress has brought the Telangana issue," Roy, a former Union minister, told reporters here.

Referring to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha President Bimal Gurung's resigning as CEO from the Gorkha Territorial Administration in Darjeeling as a fallout of the Telangana decision, Roy said "Gurung has resigned in his personal capacity. Other GJM members have not quit the GTA."

Roy echoed party supremo Mamata Banerjee's stand that the party was totally opposed to the division of West Bengal, adding that the Centre should give importance to chief minister's views on Telangana.

Meanwhile, WBPCC president Pradip Bhattacharya said it was incorrect to equate the Telangana issue with the GJM's Gorkhaland demand.

"There is no relation of Telangana with the next Lok Sabha elections," he said.