The BJP’s flip-flop on Telangana appears to be have been triggered by fears that the Congress might delay the introduction of the bill on the bifurcation of the State and blame the BJP for it.
On Tuesday, State BJP president G. Kishan Reddy, after meeting the Group of Ministers (GoM), dropped indications that the party’s support for the bill could not be taken for granted.
Unconditional support
However, he asserted on Wednesday that the BJP would support it unconditionally if it was introduced in the ensuing winter session of Parliament.
All that the BJP wants is 10 Telangana districts with Hyderabad as the capital and addressing the concerns of the people of Seemandhra.
Roadmap
Suspecting the sincerity of the Congress in tabling the bill, the BJP has demanded that the Centre come out with a clear roadmap on the bifurcation process.
The party leadership was wary that the Congress might delay the introduction of the bill till the last minute and fault the BJP if it was not passed.
The fact that there was no clarity on important issues such as the status of Hyderabad, revenue sharing, power, the new capital region of the residuary State and Bhadrachalam showed the Congress’ design of delaying the whole process without a roadmap. Even the 11 points of reference remained unanswered by the GoM.
“Under such circumstances, what can the Opposition present before the GoM. It was the government which took the decision to create Telangana and strangely was asking the Opposition for a roadmap,” the BJP leader said.
A glaring example of not taking any action against a defiant Chief Minister and various voices in the Congress like Union Ministers seeking Union Territory status for Hyderabad, others batting for a united State, while some others suggesting Rayala Telangana “make us suspect that the Congress would again betray the people”.
On the other hand, the BJP had been consistent on the creation of Telangana State even at the cost of losing its political base in large parts of Seemandhra, he added.
