Seven Ministers, besides Congress MPs and MLAs from Telangana, have announced that they would resign if the Centre fails to introduce and pass a Bill on a separate Telangana in the budget session of the Parliament.
Apparently perturbed by the contents of the Srikrishna Committee favouring continuation of a united State, the Congress leaders held a meeting at the Nizam Club here on Friday when they asserted that they were not prepared to accept anything short of a separate Telangana. They resolved “to go to any extent.” Minister for Endowments Jupalli Krishna Rao went a step ahead by stating that he would begin an indefinite fast the moment he was convinced that the Bill would not be introduced.
Those present at the meeting were Ministers J. Geeta Reddy, Mr. Krishna Rao, D. Sridhar Babu, K. Jana Reddy, K. Venkat Reddy, V. Suneeta Lakshma Reddy and B. Saraiah, MPs Madhu Yashki, Ponnam Prabhakar, G. Sukhender Reddy, Balram Naik, K. Rajagopal Reddy, Manda Jagannatham, G. Vivekanand and S. Rajaiah, besides several MLAs and MLCs.
They took stock of the situation arising from the deployment of para-military forces in large numbers in the Telangana region, the university campuses in particular, and the restrictions imposed on the coverage of developments by the media.
Sixth option shocking
The Congress leaders said they were shocked by the sixth option given by the Srikrishna Committee that a united State was the best way forward. Recalling the statement of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on December 9, 2009 about initiating the process of creation of a separate State, they said the credibility of the Congress and its president Sonia Gandhi would be at stake if the Centre went back on its promise.
They endorsed the fifth option favouring formation of Telangana, with Hyderabad as its capital. They felt that the committee failed to reflect the aspirations of the Telangana people in spite of its claim of having done an exhaustive study.
“We cannot remain silent spectators when our children are dying for the cause of a separate State and we are prepared for any sacrifices to achieve our goal,” Mr. Krishna Rao told reporters after the meeting.
