Having attained the twin objective of persuading TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao to call off his fast and defusing a potentially-explosive situation, the Centre has now put the onus of taking the process of statehood to Telangana forward on the Andhra Pradesh assembly. “The process can only be taken forward after the state assembly takes the logical step of a adopting a resolution,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said.
The Congress positioning came in the face of large-scale protests against its decision from within ranks both at the Centre and in the state. Party MP from Vijayawada, Lagadapati Rajagopal, is understood to have resigned protesting the Centre’s decision to bifurcate Andhra and form a Telangana state. Sources said Rajagopal met Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar on Thursday and conveyed his decision to quit. He then left for Hyderabad vowing to fight for a unified Andhra. In Hyderabad, several party MLAs are also reported to have put in their papers.
Late on Wednesday night, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and senior party leaders met MPs from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra in a bid to pacify them.
In putting the onus on the state assembly, the Centre appears to have bought itself some much-needed time. There is no consensus on the issue among political parties, with several Congress, TDP, and Praja Rajyam MLAs threatening to resign.
“Till a consensus is arrived at, the process cannot move forward,” Singhvi said.
The party is hoping that the decision will calm tempers, besides giving it time to work on elements within who are upset with Wednesday’s decision.
Senior Congress leaders are worried that the resignations, if allowed to go unchecked, could impact the stability of the state government. They also believe the party stands to gain as compared to its main rival in the state, the TDP, which has done a flip-flop by opposing the Telangana move after initially supporting it.
“We have always maintained that we will move on the issue once there is a consensus. It is opportunists, such as the TDP, who are creating a problem,” a cabinet minister from Andhra said.
In insisting on a resolution from the state assembly, the Centre is following the precedent set at the time of creation of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. In all three cases, the concerned state assemblies had initiated the process by adopting resolutions. By following the precedent, the Centre has also fortified itself against the charge of delaying the statehood process.
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