The sudden turnaround in the two-month-old agitation by various employees’ associations, who have softened their stand on the issue of the State’s bifurcation, is being seen as their growing faith in Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who had appealed to them to call off their strike.
A senior minister said Mr. Reddy was now being kept in the loop. Following this, the CM has begun playing a proactive role. He had succeeded in persuading the employees to end their strike.
One such indication was the reported statement by AICC spokesman P. C. Chacko that there was no time limit for the GoM on the issue to submit its report.
Strike strikes
What precipitated matters was the strike by power employees, which received public support, notwithstanding the severe inconvenience it caused. The Centre realised the strong sentiment against bifurcation and that it was not an orchestrated agitation with the Chief Minister’s support, the minister added.
“There are two options for the Congress high-command. One is to go ahead with its unilateral decision to divide the State and impose President’s rule, thereby enhancing Mr. Kiran Reddy’s image or give him a free hand to bring the situation under control without compromising its stand on a united State,” a senior minister said.
An aide of Congress president Sonia Gandhi is believed to have re-opened communication channels with the Chief Minister. With the TDP and YSRC plumping for the Seemandhra cause, the high command felt it could not afford to ignore the party’s long-term interests, even if it was prepared for a drubbing in the next elections.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy said the Chief Minister, PCC Chief Botcha Satyanarayana and all MLAs from Seemandhra were determined to defeat the resolution on Telangana or the Bill sent by the President to the Assembly.
While Seemandhra Congress MLAs and Ministers were bound by CWC decisions or single line resolutions either for electing a CLP leader or his removal, they simply could not ignore the resentment of crores of people against the bifurcation. There are several processes to stall the division, he said.
