<p>The Congress on Wednesday refused to commit to any time frame for carving out the proposed separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh but maintained that its decision is “irreversible”.<br /><br /></p>.<p>When asked whether Telangana would be formed before the Lok Sabha elections, Congress spokesman P C Chacko said, “We would like to see it soon. But I cannot say whether it would be before or after.” He maintained that the decision to create Telangana state was irreversible.<br /><br />There were talks of a time frame as the Centre did not set a deadline for the Group of Ministers (GoM) to submit their recommendations on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. The Congress Working Committee had adopted a resolution to carve out Telangana state on July 30.<br /><br />The Union Cabinet approved a proposal by the Home Ministry to create Telangana state last week. To take the process forward, a GoM chaired by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde was constituted on Tuesday.<br /><br />Congress sources admitted that the process to carve out a separate Telangana was running behind schedule as the party was taken by surprise by the agitation for a united Andhra Pradesh.<br /><br />Concerned over the protests in Seemandhra, the Congress made a strong pitch for invocation of Essential Services Maintenance act (ESMA) to restore normalcy in the region.<br />Chacko conceded that the situation in Andhra Pradesh has become “very complicated” after the assent to create Telangana and wanted leaders of all political parties to help create a congenial atmosphere for discussions and dialogues.<br /><br />He alleged that several parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and Telugu Desam Party were playing “opportunistic politics” on the issue.<br /><br />The Congress also announced a coordination committee for Andhra Pradesh with AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh as chairman and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana as the convener. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, AICC Secretary R C Khuntia, Union Minister Chiranjeevi and Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha are members.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Textiles Minister K S Rao, who on Monday accompanied four union ministers from Seemandhra to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to convey their offer to resign, on Wednesday said he never announced his intention to quit.<br /><br />“Time has not come for resignation yet. I will put my views before the GoM,” Rao, who hails from coastal Andhra, told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />Rao said he was a strong supporter of united Andhra Pradesh and was of the opinion that the CWC had taken the decision to create Telangana for “reasons not known to him”.</p>
<p>The Congress on Wednesday refused to commit to any time frame for carving out the proposed separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh but maintained that its decision is “irreversible”.<br /><br /></p>.<p>When asked whether Telangana would be formed before the Lok Sabha elections, Congress spokesman P C Chacko said, “We would like to see it soon. But I cannot say whether it would be before or after.” He maintained that the decision to create Telangana state was irreversible.<br /><br />There were talks of a time frame as the Centre did not set a deadline for the Group of Ministers (GoM) to submit their recommendations on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. The Congress Working Committee had adopted a resolution to carve out Telangana state on July 30.<br /><br />The Union Cabinet approved a proposal by the Home Ministry to create Telangana state last week. To take the process forward, a GoM chaired by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde was constituted on Tuesday.<br /><br />Congress sources admitted that the process to carve out a separate Telangana was running behind schedule as the party was taken by surprise by the agitation for a united Andhra Pradesh.<br /><br />Concerned over the protests in Seemandhra, the Congress made a strong pitch for invocation of Essential Services Maintenance act (ESMA) to restore normalcy in the region.<br />Chacko conceded that the situation in Andhra Pradesh has become “very complicated” after the assent to create Telangana and wanted leaders of all political parties to help create a congenial atmosphere for discussions and dialogues.<br /><br />He alleged that several parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and Telugu Desam Party were playing “opportunistic politics” on the issue.<br /><br />The Congress also announced a coordination committee for Andhra Pradesh with AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh as chairman and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana as the convener. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, AICC Secretary R C Khuntia, Union Minister Chiranjeevi and Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha are members.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Textiles Minister K S Rao, who on Monday accompanied four union ministers from Seemandhra to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to convey their offer to resign, on Wednesday said he never announced his intention to quit.<br /><br />“Time has not come for resignation yet. I will put my views before the GoM,” Rao, who hails from coastal Andhra, told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />Rao said he was a strong supporter of united Andhra Pradesh and was of the opinion that the CWC had taken the decision to create Telangana for “reasons not known to him”.</p>
