Minister for minor irrigation and Rayalaseema Hakkula Vedika leader T G Venkatesh on Saturday backtracked on the Rayala Telangana proposal in the wake of growing resistance among various sections of people for the same.

Following the announcement by Rayalaseema Youth Force declaring him as well as senior MLA J C Diwakar Reddy as “betrayers of Seema,” Venkatesh has clarified that he had not mooted the Rayala Telangana proposal.

“Right from the beginning, I have been demanding that the state remain united. And I hope that it would continue to be united. However, in the event of bifurcation becoming inevitable, I only demanded that a hefty financial package of Rs 1 lakh crores be announced for the development of Rayalaseema,” he said.

Accusing the media of distorting his statement on Rayala Telangana, Venkatesh said he was also in favour of Greater Rayalaseema formation if the state had to be divided.

“There is no compromise on the rights of Rayalaseema people. The Centre should take any decision on the state bifurcation only after meeting the demands of Rayalaseema,” he asserted.