Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Botcha Satyanarayana said that the ruling party is yet to receive a formal invitation from the Centre for the all-party meeting on December 28.
“Once the party receives the letter, we will sit down and decide on the representative, whether it should be one or more,” he told reporters after inspecting Lal Bahadur Stadium, venue of the day-long State-level convention on December 16. The PCC chief, along with Home Minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy and seven other Ministers, visited the venue to oversee the arrangements.
‘T’ may not be touched
Responding to a question, he said the Telangana statehood issue may not come up for discussion. “There will be no scope for discussing the issue as it is a sensitive subject and any decision has to be taken by the Centre alone,” he added. The party is confident that the Centre would redress the statehood issue in due course.
Referring to the letter written by Rajya Sabha Member V. Hanumantha Rao on extending the meeting to two days, Mr. Satyanarayana it could not be done as the AICC plenary is being held in Jaipur on December 17.
However, after the plenary, another State-level convention would be held in the State.
The PCC chief said that about 10,000 delegates from all over the State would attend the convention. The meeting would debate the SC/ST Sub Plan legislation, cash transfer scheme, enhancement of input subsidy, the one rupee rice scheme and other ongoing welfare programmes implemented by the Congress Government.
BJP yet to decide
Meanwhile, the State BJP leadership will take a decision on attending the all-party meeting convened by Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Telangana issue on December 28 after receiving the invitation.
Some of the senior BJP leaders suspect that the Centre was not sincere and the all-party meet would not serve any purpose. They feel that it was only a delaying tactic. “The situation has not changed since the last meeting and we have been very clear with our stand from the beginning,” said a senior BJP leader.
However, a decision would be taken after receiving the invitation as it would indicate to what extent the Centre was sincere.
Former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, in a statement, wanted the TDP and the YSRC to spell out their stand on Telangana. He alleged that the proposed all-party meet was a drama and meant to mislead people.
The three-day fast undertaken by BJP activists across 85 Assembly segments in Telangana to protest against Centre going back on its word regarding bifurcation of the State concluded on Tuesday.
