Congress looks both ways on Telangana

HYDERABAD: Though there is no clarity on what could be the final decision of the Congress Party on the Telangana issue, the AICC leadership seems to be moving ahead to hold the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting to take a final call on the vexatious issue and settle the matter once and for all.

The Congress high command on Saturday dropped hints that it might decide the matter much before the commencement of the monsoon session of Parliament.

A day after the Congress core committee referred the Telangana-issue to the CWC, party leadership on Saturday reportedly started preparations for holding the CWC meet at the earliest, probably by July 23.

The lone CWC member (special invitee) from the state, G Sanjeeva Reddy, received a call from the AICC headquarters on Saturday in this regard.

'I have been informed that the CWC meeting might be held in the next week to decide the Telangana issue. Hence, I have been asked to keep myself available for the meeting,' Reddy told Express here on Saturday.

Meanwhile, leaders from either side of the divide are confident that their party high command would decide in their favour.

Jaipal's Assurance

The T-Congress flock held a meeting at the residence of Union minister S Jaipal Reddy in Delhi on Saturday and took stock of the happenings on the Telangana front.

According to sources, when some leaders wondered at the decision of the party leadership, which referred the issue to the CWC, Jaipal Reddy assured them that the party core committee was in favour of bifurcation of the state and the meeting of the CWC was a due procedure to be followed to endorse the core committee's decision.

'We have hints that our party leadership is taking steps in such a way that formation of Telangana state will not give impetus to new statehood demands across the country.

Hence, our high command is going to take the path of de-merging erstwhile Andhra and Hyderabad states which had existed on October 31, 1956, before joining them to form Andhra Pradesh,' an MP who took part in the meeting said.

Interestingly, Seemandhra leaders too are fully confident that their party high command would only drag the issue on till 2014 polls under one pretext or the other, only to keep AP in tact.

Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal went one step further and said his party might opt for setting up the second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) to settle the issue.

Meanwhile, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who was in Delhi on Saturday too, held another meeting with Digvijaya and later called on President Pranab Mukherjee. Meanwhile, deputy chief minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha and PCC chief Botcha Satynarayana too met Digvijaya Singh.

Speaking to reporters, Singh made it clear that there would be no more consultations on the T-issue.

'We have completed the process of consultations. After discussing the issue in the CWC meet, the party will announce its final decision on the matter,' he said.

Fifty-fifty Chance

A senior Seemandhra leader, who has been the rallying point for the United Andhra votaries, told, 'The situation is 50-50 now. There are equal chances for keeping the present AP in tact as well as for bifurcating it. Hence, the decision could swing either way by the time CWC meets.'