JOIN USCong summons MPs from Telengana for damage control
Worried over the political fallout of the Telangana turmoil, the central leadership of the Congress has initiated steps to smoothen ruffled feathers within the party.
Sulking Congress MPs from the region, who have threaten resignations over the delay in formation of a separate state, have been summoned to Delhi for talks.
The MPs will leave for Delhi on Wednesday for parleys with party bosses in what is seen as a damage control exercise amid rising tension over the issue. A minimum of seven MPs from the region are said to be contemplating resigning from their membership of the Lok Sabha and the party to protest against the UPA government’s failure to take a decision on the statehood demand. There are 17 Lok Sabha members from the Telangana region of which the Congress accounts for 12, including three Central ministers.
The MPs who have threatened to resign are K Rajagopal Reddy, P Prabhakar, Madhu Yaskhi Goud, S Rajaiah, G Vivekanand, G Sukender Reddy and M Jaganatham.
The recent surge in the agitation is due to a statement made by AICC general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad that a final decision on the issue could take time as it requires further consultations.
These statements were seen by pro-Telangana MPs within and outside the party as a “betrayal” and a ploy to put the issue on the back burner. There are reports that MPs from the region will send in their resignation letters to party president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday.
It is also learnt that they are planning to write to Sonia Gandhi detailing how the party would be wiped out in the region if it failed to concede to the demand.
“People are losing patience. They are attacking our houses, abusing our families. We are not in a position to enter villages. Public pressure has reached its peak,” Congress MP from Nizamabad Madhu Yaski Goud said.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which has been at the forefront of the movement, warned of intensifying the agitation to mount pressure on the Centre.
“The Congress has once again back-stabbed the people of Telangana. We urge all Congress MPs and MLAs from the region to quit the party and join the agitation. Let us topple the government as it has betrayed the people,” senior TRS legislator T Harish Rao said.