TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao left for Delhi on Sunday night. The trip assumes significance as it is his first to the national capital since the Congress Working Committee’s Telangana announcement.
According to sources, AICC state affairs incharge Digvijay Singh rang up Rao in the morning and requested him to attend the Lok Sabha on Monday to vote in favour of the Food Security Bill, to which he agreed. He is understood to have decided to back the Bill as Digvijay had promised him that the Telangana bill would be tabled in the next session of Parliament.
Rao’s Delhi visit is important for two other reasons. One, as the AICC leadership is struggling to break the impasse on Telangana.
Given the ongoing agitation in Seemandhra, the Congress troubleshooters are likely to consult him to know his mind on issues such as the status of Hyderabad.
Two, since Digvijay has already invited Rao to merge his party with the Congress, it is expected that he might hold some backchannel talks with the AICC top brass.
As Rao is said to be unhappy over the way he has been kept out of the loop in the Telangana discussions, the AICC managers might give him due importance this time.
In fact, the TRS boss has held a meeting recently with his party leaders and sent out feelers that he was unhappy that issues relating to formation of Telangana were being decided unilaterally by the Congress high command without taking him into confidence.Rao said his party would not accept any central authority over any subject pertaining to Hyderabad, including law and order, post the bifurcation.
As Digvijay has hinted that Hyderabad may go the Delhi way – with the Centre controlling law and order and the city becoming the common capital of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for 10 years – the TRS’s opposition might be a stumbling block.
Hence, the AICC managers are expected to persuade him to agree to this mechanism.