Union Health Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad briefed party president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday on his two-hour meeting with Congress representatives from Telangana and the emerging situation in what is still a Congress-ruled State. Discussions at the regional level in Andhra Pradesh, followed by an all-party meeting appeared to be on the cards, with the emphasis on the “need for wider consultations.”
The sense of urgency in the Congress was sparked off by the mass resignations of legislators — MPs and MLAs, cutting across party lines — from the Telangana region demanding early creation of a separate State. Through the day, a worried Congress engaged in several rounds of discussions, especially as it has 12 MPs from Telangana, three of whom have handed in their papers. With relations between the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) — with its 18 MPs — at an all-time low, the Congress cannot afford to see any loss in its own party.
The party is clearly in crisis mode, with Ms. Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel meeting Petroleum Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, who is an MP from Telangana.
The officially stated wisdom in the Congress is that it should not rush into a decision, with party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed saying, “It is a sensitive and emotive issue.”
But, clearly, there is another view in the Congress: a senior functionary said the party had already lost too much time. “Elections — general and State — are due in 2014, and we need to face the worst and take a decision.” Though it was a case of “double-edged sword,” and that either decision — to carry on with a united State or to divide the State — would bring trouble in its wake, he stressed, the situation needed to be faced — and the fallout dealt with — sooner rather than later. Another senior leader said, “We can't postpone a decision any longer,” adding the leadership had finally realised how serious the situation was.
Earlier, Mr Azad put on a brave face after his meeting with the Telangana legislators: he told journalists that they were ready for a dialogue with central leaders. He said that in his discussions, the Telangana representatives said that since central leaders had delayed taking a decision, not sticking to the time frame they had given, there was “pressure from within” on them to quit. He had conveyed these sentiments to the Congress president and the Prime Minister, Mr. Azad said, adding that despite the difficult situation, it was “not a closed chapter.”
The government, he said, had always maintained that it would be a difficult decision on the Telangana issue, whenever it was taken, and would require wide consultations at the Centre and in the State. “I and my party feel the discussions should begin again.”
Asked whether the resignations of the Congress legislators would result in a constitutional crisis, Mr. Azad said, “In terms of numbers, it is not a constitutional crisis” but his party was not in favour of a situation where people from one region were not represented in the Legislature.
