New Delhi, June 4: The Congress Monday said it was not against "creation of smaller states including Telangana" and added that the party was trying to evolve a consensus over the vexed issue.
"The Congress is not against creation of smaller states, including Telangana. The party is trying to evolve a consensus over the issue," Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed told reporters.
He agreed that Telangana was a complicated issue and that there are divergent opinions within the party on the creation of a separate state out of Andhra Pradesh.
"It is a complex issue. There are divergent views in the party," said Ahmed.
He said the party's general secretary in charge of the southern state, Ghulam Nabi Azad, would be able throw more light on the issue.
The Congress has recently lost two MPs and a leader K. Keshava Rao, who left the party to join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, headed by K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
Azad blamed the leaders for having struck a deal with TRS.
In Hyderabad, BJP chief Rajnath Singh - who will address a public meeting on Telangana - said the party would ensure the formation of a Telangana state within a year if voted to power in New Delhi.
He accused the Congress of repeatedly betraying the people of Telangana by going back on its word for formation of a separate state.
