Against the backdrop of the continuing crisis in Telangana, the Congress Core Group held an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening to discuss the pros and cons of the situation, and the urgent need to start a dialogue among the various regions of Andhra Pradesh to try and find an amicable solution, sources said.
The Core Group also took stock of the Maran matter on a day when the Union Textiles Minister's name figured in a status report submitted to the Supreme Court by the Central Bureau of Investigation for forcing Aircel to transfer shares. The sources said the matter would be discussed with Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) supremo M. Karunanidhi.
Speculation on Cabinet reshuffle
After the Core Group meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her political secretary, Ahmed Patel remained closeted for a while, leading to speculation that they were discussing an impending Cabinet reshuffle.
But of the three subjects that came up for discussion among top Congress leaders on Wednesday, Telangana was clearly the priority, the sources said. The Union Health Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was a special invitee to the Core Group meeting, briefed the members on the events of the last few days, following the mass resignations of legislators from Telangana to reinforce their demand for a separate State.
Indeed, so concerned is the Congress central leadership over the Telangana issue now that it is wondering whether it will have to postpone the Cabinet reshuffle until after it sorts out the matter of a separate State, party sources said.
Meanwhile, the Congress' Telangana leaders appeared more restrained, with the party leadership conveying to them that nothing could be got through pressure tactics. It has been pointed out to the Telangana leaders that a separate State will be possible only if an amicable method is found, as had happened when Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were formed.
One suggestion made by a central leader engaged in talks with the Telangana leaders is that they should try and get the Andhra Pradesh Assembly to pass a resolution for the creation of Telangana: this, of course, is unlikely as the non-Telangana part of the State is much larger and unwilling to give up its claim to the State capital, Hyderabad, which is deep inside Telangana. But clearly, if it is possible through some give and take, then an amicable settlement can be found.
“Emotional disintegration”
A senior Congress leader from the Telangana region, however, told The Hindu that “the emotional disintegration was complete” at the ground level and that a separate State would have to be created sooner rather than later.
“Today, there is no violence in this region, because there is no resistance,” he said, pointing out that if Telangana was formed, the Congress would be the only political force in the region, which has 17 of the State's 42 MPs. If the government continued with status quo, it might please those from the Rayalaseema and coastal regions, he said, but there the Congress would face competition from two groups, the Telugu Desam Party and the Jagan Reddy faction, while the Telangana area would be totally lost to it.
“Radical rethink”
Congress sources added that the Telangana issue had “acquired a sharper edge than ever before,” forcing the leadership to do a “radical rethink” on the ultimate shape of things and how to get there.
