There was intense lobbying against the formation of Rayala-Telangana within the Congress and other political parties on Thursday.
The Telangana Congress MPs called on senior leaders, including AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, requesting them not to give consent to the merger of two more districts with Telangana. The MPs - Madhu Yashki Goud, Ponnam Prabhakar and S. Rajaiah - called on senior party leaders and reminded them of the adverse impact the party may suffer if Rayala-Telangana was formed.
Mr. Madhu Yashki said the move would be counter-productive, and that merging the two districts of Rayalaseema would send wrong signals to the people. The struggle for a separate State had its roots in the way Chief Ministers from the Rayalaseema region had treated the Telangana region, he added.
Meanwhile, the Telangana political Joint Action Committee, led by its chairman M. Kodandaram, called on Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh and Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj separately. They requested Ms. Swaraj to mount pressure on the Congress for creation of Telangana with 10 districts. Ms. Swaraj reportedly assured the delegation that the BJP would not support any alternative proposal.
The TJAC leaders asked Mr. Ajit Singh to impress upon the Centre against going ahead with the Rayala-Telangana proposal. Mr. Singh hoped that Telangana with 10 districts would be created before the 2014 elections.
Prof. Kodandaram said the T-JAC would remain cautious with the Congress till the Telangana Bill was passed in Parliament and the President gave assent to it.
