Former Chief Minister Nadendla Bhaskara Rao on Sunday urged the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi to defer the recently-announced decision on carving out a separate Telangana.
At a press conference here, he wanted the Centre to convene a meeting of elected representatives from all political parties and representatives of employees’ throughout the State so that the pulse of the people could be gauged correctly. People had a right to express their dissent, but conveying it in the form of violence was not advisable, he said, referring to the ongoing agitation for the past four days in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.
“As a Congress leader and an AICC member I appeal to the high command to put the decision on hold, call for a meeting of all elected representatives and discuss the issue,” he said. When asked if he would be going to New Delhi to put forth his view on the issue, he said he had already communicated his views to the high command.
With the exception of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he said all political parties had failed to gauge the people’s feelings in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, while they were by and large, correct in assessing the situation as regards Telangana. Reiterating that he was for a united State, Mr. Bhaskara Rao said it was strange that after 60 years, people were talking about a separation.
