Political pressure might start building on the Congress high command again because of the impression created by a section of the leaders that a decision on Telangana may be taken before the next Parliament session.
As the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs headed by Defence Minister A. K. Antony decided on Monday that a 26-day-long session of Parliament would begin on August 5, expectations are bound to rise in Telangana that the Congress Working Committee would hold its meeting well before that date.
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh had stated after a meeting of the Congress Core Committee on July 12 that the Telangana issue would be referred to the CWC. There were indications that the CWC would be convened well ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, say some time in the last week of July.
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After strong signals from the Congress leadership that it was tilting in favour of granting statehood to Telangana, the issue has taken a curious turn after BSP leader Mayawati, while favouring Telangana, said the Centre should consider the proposal to divide UP into four States if it was going to constitute a second State Reorganisation Commission. The Gorkhaland Janmukti Morcha (GJM) also sought a Gorkhaland State.
At this rate, it may not be long before similar demands are voiced by the Congress’ allies. For instance, in Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party strongman, Sharad Pawar, said earlier this year that he was not opposed to creation of Vidharbha while Mr. Ajit Singh is a known supporter of smaller States and wants Harit Pradesh carved out of UP.
‘T’ MPs’ takeADVERTISEMENT
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Congress MPs from Telangana – Ponnam Prabhakar and Madhu Yaskhi -- said as the high command had already responded positively to the statehood cause at the Core Committee meeting, it was a matter of time before a Bill was introduced in Parliament. The MPs said there was no need for them to agitate in the forthcoming session as they were convinced by the high command’s sincerity.
In a related development, PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana called on Union Minister S. Jaipal Reddy and discussed the political developments. Later, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh drove to the residence of Mr. Reddy for a meeting.