• Home
• /
• World

Congress tells Andhra CM, PCC chief to toe party line

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh, who is also in-charge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, made it clear in no uncertain terms that the decision to divide the state was irrevocable, and urged party leaders in the state including Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and state unit Congress chief B. Satyanarayana to toe the party line.

“The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) took the decision only after consulting the leaders of all parties. Congress leaders, including the chief minister and the PCC chief, had told the party leadership that they would abide by any decision on the issue, and now, they should keep their word,” Singh told mediapersons after meeting a delegation of Telangana Congress leaders late on Tuesday evening.

Questioning the allegations raised by opposition parties that the Congress had taken a unilateral decision to divide the state, the senior Congress leader said the decision was taken only after holding wide-ranging consultations with all political parties.

“It is unfortunate that the Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress, who had also given their consent for bifurcation, should now back out,” he said.

The delegation of Telangana Congress leaders, comprising Union Ministers S Jaipal Reddy and Sarve Satyanarayana, and MPs Ponnam Prabhakar, Madhu Yashki Goud, Anjan Kumar Yadav, Palvai Govardhan Reddy, R Ananda Bhaskar and Suresh Shetkar, submitted some news clippings and a report to the Antony Committee to refute allegations of their Seemandhra counterparts that Telangana leaders were provoking Seemandhra employees and people living in Hyderabad.

Stating that the apprehensions raised by Seemandhra leaders with regard to those living in Hyderabad were unfounded, the delegation, in its representation to the committee, said: “The situation in Hyderabad is absolutely peaceful. If the process for creation of Telangana state is delayed, it can then lead to problems. If you can ensure that the process is completed at the earliest, all issues will be sorted out in a smooth manner.”

The Telangana leaders made it clear that nothing short of Telangana consisting of 10 districts with Hyderabad as capital would be acceptable to them.

However, they said they had no objection to Hyderabad being joint capital for 10 years and the law and order being under the Centre’s control during that period. Sarve Satyanarayana told mediapersons that the committee asked them about the apprehensions of people from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions living in Hyderabad. -news@khaleejtimes.com