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Fresh initiative by AICC on Telangana appears unlikely at this stage

HYDERABAD: Far from furthering the cause of separate Telangana, Congress leaders from the region appear to have antagonised their high command by speaking in threatening tones against the move to constitute a States Reorganisation Commission (SRC).

The disparate voices within the party – demand for a separate Rayalaseema and merger of Anantapur district with Karnataka – have only lent strength to the Congress high command in deferring any forward-looking proposal to carve out Telangana, according to informed sources in the Congress.

These conflicting demands, they argue, need arbitration by a neutral body like the SRC. More importantly, ‘a rational and logical basis’ has to be evolved by a Commission for the creation of new States since similar demands are being voiced elsewhere in the country too.

“What can we do in these circumstances. We cannot take a decision arbitrarily on the basis of a few Congress leaders’ demand,” the sources pointed out.

The offer of AICC general secretary Veerappa Moily to constitute an SRC, they say, was an earnest attempt to address the issue of Telangana but it had to be hurriedly retracted in the face of strident opposition by the ginger group of Congressmen, notably CWC member G. Venkataswamy. AICC spokesman Abhishek Singhvi quoted the Prime Minister as saying that a second SRC was not under consideration. A fresh initiative by the AICC on Telangana, therefore, appears unlikely at this stage.

The March 6 deadline set by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) for the Centre to commit itself on Telangana may also not force the Congress’ hand, going by the current mood of its leadership.

It is a moot question whether the Election Commission would be willing to notify byelections in the event of resignation of TRS MPs (4) and MLAs (16) when the general elections are just 15 months away.

Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who held a crucial meeting on Telangana with Congress president Sonia Gandhi along with Mr. Moily on Wednesday, is least fazed by the argument that the TRS will ride to victory on the wave of ‘Telangana sentiment’, sources close to him say.

They credit him with the view that the TRS’ influence does not extend to the entire region. Moreover, the Congress was in a position in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema that was strong enough to ensure that its contingent of MPs from A.P. would not alter significantly, they add.

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