Digvijaya curt to ministers' wives too

The AICC leader asks them to list out their demands for the benefit of the people of their region after bifurcation of the state

Two days after he had expressed his annoyance with the Union ministers and Congress MPs from Seemandhra for their repeated demand that the state be kept united, AICC state affairs incharge Digvijaya Singh on Saturday told the wives of the state ministers from the region in the same breath that there was no point in pressing for state’s unity even after the Congress Working Committee’s decision to bifurcate the state.

The ministers’ wives were taken aback by the terse reply given to them by Digvijaya Singh when they urged him to keep the state intact.

“It will be merely a waste of time if we still discuss how to keep AP intact even after the CWC decision to bifurcate the state. Instead of pressing for United AP, you please try to concentrate on extracting a good financial package for Seemandhra,”  Singh is learnt to have told them when they had called on him in Delhi on Saturday.

According to sources, the AICC point man told them to list out their demands for the benefit of the people of their region after bifurcation so that he would try to persuade the prime minister and AICC supremo to concede those demands.

DIGGY BLASTS CM: Interestingly, the AICC general secretary, who is said to have come down heavily on chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for opposing division of the state when the Congress MPs had met him the other day, continued fuming at Kiran.

“Your chief minister has come in the way of announcing a good financial package for Seemandhra with his opposition to our party’s decision to bifurcate AP,” Singh reportedly told the wives of the  ministers.

The ladies said later that they had requested Singh to persuade the party leadership to make Hyderabad a Union Territory and suggest separate capitals for the proposed two states.

Earlier in the day, they met President Pranab Mukherjee and pleaded with him to keep the state united.

SHINDE TOO UNHELPFUL: Meanwhile, Union ministers and Seemandhra MPs failed to get a clear-cut promise from Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on putting the T-note on hold till the Antony Committee submits its final report to the AICC leadership when they met the latter in Delhi on Saturday.

The MPs seem to have come to the conclusion that there was no hope of the Centre going back on the issue of bifurcation.

MPs likely to quit on September 24

Following this, some of the Seemandhra MPs have almost decided to resign from the membership of the Lok Sabha on September 24. The MPs have already sought an appointment with the speaker of Lok Sabha.

However, a final decision in the matter will be taken at the extended meeting of the Seemandhra leaders on Monday at Delhi.

According to MP Ananta Venkatarami Reddy, the MPs and Union ministers will meet in Delhi on Monday to take a final decision on their future course of action.

Among those who are likely to press for acceptance of their resignations are Venkatrami Reddy, Lagadapati Rajagopal, SPY Reddy, A Sai Pratap, Mangunta Srinivasul Reddy, Vundavalli Arun Kumar and Rayapati Sambasiva Rao.

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