RT: A Ploy to divide integrationists

HYDERABAD: Has the Centre really contemplated forming Rayala Telangana State? Or, was it a ploy to bring division among the United Andhra protagonists before sending the T-bill to the State Assembly?

These questions are now being discussed widely in Congress circles following the Union Cabinet's decision to form T-state with 10 districts.T-Congress leaders say the Rayala Telangana proposal was never seriously considered by the Congress high command.

According to them, the AICC leadership had brought this proposal up as a trial balloon just to satisfy the party leaders from Kurnool and Anantapur districts, who are demanding merger of these districts with Telangana.

'Our party high command never seriously considered formation of Rayala Telangana. From the beginning, the AICC top brass has been backing T-state with existing boundaries,' said PCC former boss D Srinivas.

However, some Seemandhra leaders are differing with this view. They believe that apart from the all-round opposition in the state, the exit poll results which predicted doom for the Congress in the just-concluded Assembly elections in five States have forced the Centre and the Congress high command to beat a hasty retreat on Rayala Telangana.

According to Seemandhra leaders, though the Centre, till Wednesday night, dropped hints that it was considering merger of Kurnool and Anantapur districts with the proposed T-state, the exit polls, which predicted BJP's victory in four of the five states that had gone to polls recently, has altered the decision.In fact, a day after the exit polls, on Thursday, some UPA allies like Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) disapproved of the Rayala Telangana proposal.

RLD chief and civil aviation minister Ajit Singh, prior to the Union Cabinet meeting, openly announced that his party would not back the Telangana Bill if the Centre tried to split Rayalaseema to merge districts of it with the T-state.

He made this comment soon after a delegation of Telangana Joint Action Committee leaders, headed by Prof M Kodandaram, met him and requested him not to accept Rayala Telangana proposal.

Besides, the main opposition BJP, which is in an upbeat mood following the opinion poll results, also dismissed this proposal. Even though Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh tried to persuade the BJP leadership to agree to Rayala T by meeting M Venkaiah Naidu in Delhi, the latter made it clear that his party would not accept it.

The bandh observed across Telangana on Thursday in protest against Rayala Telangana also appears to have forced the Centre to drop the idea, which was aimed at deriving political dividends from the bifurcation.

Interestingly, prior to the Union Cabinet meeting, a delegation of Telangana Congress MPs met AICC supremo Sonia Gandhi and prime minister Manmohan Singh separately and pleaded with them not to deviate from the Congress Working Committee resolution while according statehood to Telangana.