As “Telangana” announcement has brought a lot of unrest and violence in the Seemandhra region, the party leaders from Seemandhra, including Union Ministers and MPs, have clearly told the party leadership that Hyderabad should be declared as a Union Territory a la Chandigarh.
Union Human Resources Development Minister Pallam Raju, who had offered to quit from the Cabinet in the interests of welfare of Telugus, told The Hindu on Saturday that he hoped that the high power committee being appointed by the party, to look into the grievances and demands of the Seemandhra leaders, would take care of their sentiments including those relating to declaring Hyderabd as a Union Territory.
He said they conveyed to the party leadership about the apprehension of the people living in Hyderabad about their future after TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao had made some comments about the future of government employees from Seemandhra after the new State was formed. Similar was the fear about the future of the students pursuing their education in and around Hyderabad.
“We also conveyed the uncertainty in the minds of those in the Rayalaseema region about the sharing of Krishna water as the water has to flow from the Telangana region to the Rayalaseema districts and what would happen if the flow was blocked by those in the Telangana region,” he said. The Seemandhra Congress leaders had requested the party leadership to settle these issues quickly to bring peace, Mr. Raju added.
Meanwhile, sources said nine Congress MPs – eight from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha – are unlikely to attend Parliament session till the UPA government address their concern.