What is Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy up to on the question of division of Andhra Pradesh on which his views are by now too well-known?
After he publicly spoke against Delhi‘s decision for the second time Thursday, Congressmen and leaders of other parties were engaged in reading the fine-print but Express has authoritatively learnt this: a) he is clear that there is no question of the Centre going back on bifurcation and, on the contrary, would try its best to stick to the time limit — Dec; and b) there is no question of Kiran trying to form a new party.
At the same time, he does not want to give an impression that he has surrendered meekly to Delhi. He would like to utilize every opportunity to drive home the point that despite holding the CM’s post, he has not hesitated to champion Seemandhra’s cause. In other words, he would like history to record his dissent. Kiran also seems to be revelling in the feedback he is getting that whenever he raises the concerns of Andhra and Rayalaseema, it is being appreciated by people of the two regions — something that has eluded State and Union Ministers.
However, what is also clear is that neither Kiran’s stance in favour of united Andhra Pradesh nor the manner in which he is highlighting the concerns of Seemandhra are helping the party recover in the regions. In fact, some ministers are of the view that what he is doing is intended only to protect his “personal image” and he is unlikely to defy the party high command. They are unhappy that he has not been sharing information about his meetings with the party top brass. No wonder, MPs from Andhra are battling it out on their own while state ministers are visiting Delhi without any purpose.
On the other side, Kiran is reportedly claiming that if there is one leader who has the guts to speak up, it’s him. “The PCC chief is almost silent and Union Ministers are only making murmurs. If I also keep quiet, who else will speak?” seems to be the line he is parroting. Interestingly, his comments against division on Thursday came at a time when there were reports of some Union Ministers contemplating resignations. Is it a case of one-upmanship or each leader trying to keep himself afloat, fully conscious of the end result?
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