Seemandhra Congress MLAs are hopeful that the party will take back the decision of the Working Committee, the highest governing body, giving its green signal to the formation of separate Telangana State.
“It is the decision of the Congress, not the UPA government. We are hopeful that the party leadership will take back its decision,” senior leader Gade Venkata Reddy said.
Speaking to reporters along with Minister S. Sailajanath here on Thursday, he said the Seemandhra Congress leaders would continue mounting pressure on the party leadership as the decision was not in the interests of the two regions.
‘Double standards’
They wanted the Telugu Desam Party and the YSR Congress to come out openly in support of the united State rather than adopting “double standards’’ on the issue. While TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu directly supported the bifurcation, the YSRC’s stand was ambiguous.
“The YSRC’s slogan on equitable justice reflects that the party is not totally against bifurcation,” Dr. Sailajanath said.
‘No compromise’
Citing the intense agitation in the 13 districts of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, they demanded that the TDP and the YSRC take back the letters of support they had given to the Congress leadership.
Asked about senior leaders’ demand that Visakhapatnam be made the capital in the event of bifurcation, they said such issues would arise only if the State was divided, but the Seemandhra leaders were firm against allowing any such moves.
They said the talk of Rayala-Telangana, merger of districts of north coastal Andhra with Telangana State and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority be made a separate State held no ground as they reportedly did not figure in the party leadership’s plans on bifurcation.
Dr. Sailajanath said the party’s Seemandhra leaders would launch a ‘deeksha’ in support of united Andhra Pradesh, tentatively from September 2 or 3 on the Legislative Assembly premises or at the Telugu Talli statue.
