With the 57-day-old Samaikyandhra movement in Seemandhra showing no signs of subsiding in the coming days, the Congress high command is understood to be formulating a strategy to weaken the agitation to take forward the process of state’s bifurcation smoothly.
As per this strategy the Centre is said to be mulling over announcing the capital of the residuary state of AP, after carving out Telangana state from the present united state, at the earliest.
As indicated by AICC general secretary in charge of state affairs Digvijaya Singh, the note on Telangana will be placed before the Union cabinet in the first week of October soon after the prime minister’s return to Delhi from the US. Then the Centre will hold talks with Seemandhra leaders to consider Visakhapatnam, the place between Vijayawada and Guntur and Ongole for finalising the capital of new Andhra state.
According a top Congress leader, the AICC leadership is of the opinion that announcing the capital of Andhra state will be the only solution to resolve the present impasse. “The high command thinks that the announcement of capital of Seemandhra will cause a vertical split among United Andhra protagonists as people and leaders from the surrounding districts of the new capital city will stop backing the Samaikyandhra movement,” he said.
Meanwhile, former PCC chief D Srinivas said his party leadership was chalking out an action plan to placate the agitating people of Seemandhra so as to address their concerns.
The senior politico, who turned 66 on Friday, told some reporters that the T-process would be expedited once the prime minister returned from the US. “I believe that T-bill will be tabled in Parliament during the winter session. I am sure the bill will be passed in both Houses.”
On reports that Seemandhra Congress MPs are seeking BJP’s help to defeat the T-bill in Parliament, Srinivas said, “I don’t think a national party like BJP will take a U-turn as done by regional parties such as TDP and YSRC. Prime minister Manmohan Singh has taken BJP leader Sushma Swaraj into confidence while announcing Congress Working Committee’s decision to accord statehood to Telangana. Soon after the announcement, apart from Sushmaji, even BJP strongman LK Advani greeted the Telangana people. I don’t believe that the BJP will stall the T-bill.”
Another senior Telangana leader and Rajya Sabha member Palvai Govardhan Reddy, who has been camping in Delhi for the past few days, told Express over phone that his party leadership was determined to introduce T-bill in the ensuing Parliament session. “The AICC leadership is keenly observing the defiant attitude of chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. If he doesn’t mend his ways and continues to disobey the party leadership, then the Centre will impose President’s rule and take forward the process of bifurcation,” he said.
Both Srinivas and Govardhan Reddy said that the ensuing general polls would be held in two Telugu states.