The declaration that a Second States Reorganisation Commission  (SRC) would be appointed to decide the issue of a separate statehood for Telangana here on Wednesday, has created ripples across the political spectrum. While Telangana Rashtra Samiti, BJP and a section of Congress leaders have reacted with anger, parties like the CPM have welcomed it, saying integration is the only way forward.

AICC general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, M Veerappa Moily arrived here on Wednesday, even as the political circles were in a tizzy over a report from New Delhi that the Congress had decided to request the UPA government to set up a second SRC to decide the issue of Telangana. The reports said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking the setting up of the second SRC.

However, even as reactions came pouring in, Prime Minister’s Office denied the report. The report proved to be true, with Moily announcing to the media on Wednesday, that the second SRC would be applicable to Telangana and Vidarbha. Some reports had said that the move was also aimed to garner support in Uttar Pradesh in the next general election and where there is a demand to trifurcate the state.

‘Unavoidable’

Moily said a second SRC was unavoidable since there was no consensus among the UPA allies on the issue. He said the final decision would depend on the UPA allies and that the Congress would try for consensus. He also said that a second SRC was ‘under consideration’ by the party and that Sonia would decide on the issue at the right time. He said that creating a separate state of Telangana was ‘high’ on the agenda of the Congress and that it remained ‘committed’ to Telangana.

On the basis of the recommendations of the first SRC, linguistic states were created in 1956.
Moily was critical of TRS  for accusing the Congress of betrayal  and thereby opposing the second SRC. He said TRS had committed itself to a second SRC in its alliance with the Congress during the 2004 Assembly Elections.
He read out from the 2004 election manifesto   which was endorsed by the then TRS leader, A Narendra. “We have not deviated from this commitment,” he asserted.

TRS leader K Chandrashekhar Rao said that if a second SRC was announced, the people of Telangana would consign Congress to history’s dustbin. BJP’s Venkaiah Naidu said that his party would oppose the proposal for a second SRC to decide the Telangana issue.

Other BJP leaders said that they were prepared to join hands with any party that supported separate Telangana.
Senior Congress leaders like G Venkatswamy and M Satyanarayana Rao said it was unfair to refer the issue to second SRC and that it would have repercussions on the party.

CPM which does not support bifurcation of the state believes that the second SRC was a ‘tactic’ to divert attention from the issue of film star Chiranjeevi’s much speculated entry into politics.