HYDERABAD: There is no possibility of the central government introducing a bill on Telangana in Parliament during the current session, Union petroleum minister and senior Congress leader from Telangana S Jaipal Reddy has said.
Speaking with reporters at Rajahmundry in East Godavari district on Sunday, he said that since the Centre was studying the issue it was not proper for him to make speculative comments.
His neutral stance is significant when the Congress is gearing up to face by-elections in six Assembly constituencies, including three in his home district of Mahaboobnagar, in the region.
Reddy has been, from the beginning, maintaining silence on Telangana.
After the December 9, 2009 statement by Union home minister P Chidambaram, he claimed that he had educated the Congress high command on the issue.
After that he did not come out openly on Telangana, even in the heat of the Telangana movement or the 42- day Sakala Janula Samme.
Several Telangana organisations conducted several meetings and agitations in Hyderabad and Delhi but Reddy studiously avoided taking a stance on the state's bifurcation issue.
He faced strident protests in Hyderabad and Delhi but did not bend.
Several Congress leaders from all the three regions and PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana have remained in touch with Jaipal Reddy.
These include those opposing chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s leadership.
Sensing that their detractors are meeting Jaipal frequently, Kiran Kumar Reddy and his supporters have distanced themselves from the Union minister.
Earlier, Kiran Reddy used to meet him frequently on his visits to Delhi.
His rapport with leaders of all regions made one leader say the Congress leadership should allow Reddy to play a key role in state politics