GoM pays no attention to Kiran's plea

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who had famously said that no match is over till the last ball is bowled, may well have faced the last ball of the Telangana match. And, he was put on the defensive.

Kiran's bulky report to the Group of Ministers (GoM) arguing how the Centre is committing a 'historic blunder' by dividing Andhra Pradesh seems to have had little impact on the Congress high command.

Hours after his forceful plea for reconsidering the decision on bifurcation, a clear message was delivered to him to fall in line.

The AICC in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Digvijay Singh told reporters that the Chief Minister had no option but to fall in line with the high command's decision. Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who head the seven-member GoM, declared that the consultation process on the Telangana formation was over.

He said that the GoM would have the last meeting on November 21 to finalise its report which would be placed before the Union cabinet on the same day.

'The Cabinet would discuss the draft Telangana Bill and after approval, it will be tabled in the Parliament during the winter session commencing on December 5,' Shinde said.

Apparently, the Congress high command has decided to ignore the Chief Minister's objections to the bifurcation. Instead, it focused on the post-bifurcation issues raised by the Seemandhra Union ministers who had met the panel earlier in the morning.

'The Seemandhra ministers have more or less reconciled to the State's division and put forth certain demands which would be taken into consideration while preparing the draft Bill. The Chief Minister's argument is totally untenable at this stage,' sources close to GoM said.

However, the ruling party is yet to disclose its strategy on how it would get an approval from the State Assembly for the draft Telangana Bill.

Kiran told media after meeting the GoM that if the Centre went ahead with the preparation of Telangana Bill, the State Assembly would react appropriately. Indirectly, he hinted to the high command that he would ensure its defeat on the floor of the House.

The high command is aware of the tricky situation. If Kiran steps down on his own or is sacked, the State Cabinet will get automatically dissolved and it will be difficult for his successor to form his own team given the stiff resistance from the Seemandhra MLAs and ministers.

And, there is every possibility that a large number of MLAs from Seemandhra would follow Kiran, making it difficult for the party to handle the resulting political crisis. If the Centre imposes President's Rule to go ahead with the bifurcation, the Telangana Bill might not get the President's approval, say sources.