Govt has not dropped statehood issue, Congress assures Telangana MPs

After party MPs from Telangana resented the non-mentioning of the contentious issue of separate statehood in president Pratibha Patil's address to the Parliament today, Congress sought to cool the tempers saying it does not mean the government has left the issue.

"It is not necessary for the president to comment on every issue but non-mentioning of any issue does not mean that it has been left out from the policy of the government and the cabinet," party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters at the AICC briefing.

He also denied that the government is not according priority to the issue saying, "It has got so much priority that it has now gone on the process of a commission."

Singhvi said a comprehensive look at the issue is being taken as the commission has been made after detailed deliberations and the process should be allowed its time, adding that raking up the issue without allowing the process to unfold can only impede the progress.

His reaction came hours after all Congress MPs from the region barring urban development minister Jaipal Reddy stood
up and displayed placards in support of a separate Telangana state during Patil's 50-minute address to the joint sitting of Parliament.

The MPs also claimed that after the address, they observed a two-minute silence in the Central Hall in memory of the people who have laid down their lives for the Telangana cause.