The Union government has summoned Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to the national capital to get a firsthand view of the strike that has paralysed all of Telangana, as the agitation for a separate State is gaining momentum. Mr. Narasimhan, a former Intelligence Bureau Director, who is expected to fly in on Friday, is likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday.
Mr. Narasimhan's visit, Congress sources said, is likely to be followed by that of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on October 8.
Azad briefs Sonia
This comes on the heels of an interview, given by the government's chief troubleshooter and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, that has disappointed Telangana votaries in the Congress: he told a TV channel that Statehood could be achieved only after consensus was arrived at among stakeholders at both the State and national levels, as any hasty decision would trigger similar demands in other parts of the country.
In the same vein, Health Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Wednesday that no time frame could be set on when a decision was taken.
He said the process of consultations at the national level would start after the Dussehra vacation, leading to speculation on the possibility of an all-party meeting being convened.
On Wednesday, Mr. Azad briefed Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the situation in Telangana.
‘Congress endangered'
Earlier in the week, when the Telangana legislators met the Prime Minister, Dr. Singh, while accepting the seriousness of the situation in the region, stressed that nothing should be done that could endanger the Congress government in the State or trigger demands in other parts of the country.
A disappointed Congress MP from Telangana said: “Not a day goes by without some Minister or MLA from the region putting in his papers. The longer the matter is not resolved, the greater the danger to the A.P. government.”
He said demands for other States would remain on the table regardless of whether Telangana was created or not; meanwhile, the Congress was losing its base in Telangana and not really keeping its support base intact in the rest of the State. He pointed out that unlike in the past when the Telangana issue had come to the boil — such as in the late 1960s when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister — the people of the State had only the one political choice, the Congress. Today, the situation was different; the party had competitors in the State.
Hyderabad Special Correspondent adds: The Governor will leave for New Delhi from Tirupati on Friday afternoon on a four-day visit to the national capital.
Meet in Delhi
Apart from the main political agenda of holding discussions with the Central leaders on the Telangana issue, the Governor is expected to assist the Ministry of Home Affairs in drafting the agenda for the two-day all India Governor's conference scheduled to be held in New Delhi on October 28 and 29.
According to Raj Bhavan sources, Mr. Narasimhan, by virtue of being the senior most among his peers, is treated as ‘doyen Governor' and is involved as a matter of tradition in airing the issues that should come up for discussion at the conference. He is scheduled to return to the city on October 10.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy is also likely to be asked to come over to New Delhi for discussions on the Telangana issue. He has cancelled his scheduled visit to Anantapur district in order to leave for the nation capital at short notice.
