Congress seesaw on Telangana continues

HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI: The seesaw battle in the State Congress over the Telangana issue continued on Monday with party leaders from the region rejecting Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s invitation to Delhi and the Seemandhra leaders making a forceful presentation against bifurcation of the State to the party top brass.

On its part, the Congress high command, caught in a cleft-stick, advocated “patience” and “further consultations” to break the impasse. The day began with the Telangana Congress leaders, who have been looking for a face-saver following their mass resignations, registering their “protest” against Azad’s recent remarks in Beijing that the Telangana issue cannot move an inch without a unanimous resolution in the State Assembly. Members of the Telangana Congress steering committee, headed by Minister K Jana Reddy and MP K Keshava Rao, met at the residence of Nagarkurnool MP Manda Jagannadham and discussed Azad’s invitation.At the end of it, however, they made it a point to stress that refusal did not mean “defiance” and said they would continue to hold talks with the party high command. It is learnt that some of the senior Telangana Congress leaders are planning a trip to Delhi — after the return of their Seemandhra counterparts — to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and others to extract a specific assurance. After the meeting, steering committee spokesman Gutta Sukhender Reddy hinted at their travel plans when he said “the steering committee will finalise the Delhi visit if there’s an invitation from Congress Central leaders other than Azad.” In Delhi,  Seemandhra leaders led by MP Kavuri Sambasiva Rao met Azad, who is also incharge of party affairs in the State,  and made a strong case for adopting the sixth option recommended by Justice Srikrishna Committee, which is to keep the State united. The delegation also explained in detail the current political situation in their regions.Azad, who gave them a patient hearing, suggested that consultations are the only solution to the issue. He said he had wanted to have consultations with limited number of delegations from all the three regions in the State to find a solution acceptable to all.The delegation is also likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other members of the party core group. Earlier in the day, Sambasiva Rao and Minister Sailajanath said leaders from Coastal and Rayalaseema regions came in large numbers to convey  the message to the party high command and the government that dividing Andhra Pradesh would hurt the sentiments of millions of people in the State. Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari  called for patience  by all stakeholders on the sensitive issue. “You may be sensitive but keep patience,” he said.  To a query whether the resolution of Gorkhaland can pave the way for a solution to the Telangana issue, he replied, “ It will be stretching it too much to think that any particular situation could be a template for other situations.”