Reiterating that the Centre as well as the Congress high command have understood the sentiments of the people of all the regions and the sensibilities surrounding the Telangana issue, Union information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari has called upon youngsters in Telangana not to resort to suicides.
The Union minister, who is also AICC spokesman, visited Gandhi Bhavan, the state headquarters of the Congress, here on Sunday.
Talking with reporters after meeting senior leaders and Youth Congress activists, Tewari made it clear that the Central government and the Congress high command were making all efforts to resolve the Telangana issue at the earliest. People and political leaders across the state should exercise restraint, he said but refused to set any deadline for completion of the process of consultations.
“It will be inappropriate on my part to fix any timeframe to consultations as my senior colleague and Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is dealing with the issue. If anything is there in this regard, he will brief the media,” Tewari said.
NO SNAP POLL: Asked about Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav’s prediction of early polls to the Lok Sabha, Tewari said the UPA government would complete its full term. “In 2004 the UPA was elected for five years. We fulfilled our commitment to the people. We have great respect for our allies. We have always walked an extra mile to take them on board. But our commitment to people is paramount. The people of India have given the UPA a mandate for five years. We will complete our term and fulfil all promises made to people.”
The Union minister exuded confidence that the Congress would score a hat trick under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi in the 2014 general election.
TERRORISM: On the hanging of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist Afzal Guru, the brain behind the attack on Parliament, Tewari said the UPA government had never hesitated to take tough decisions on matters of national security.
When asked about BJP’s criticism that the Centre had taken eight long years to implement the court’s verdict, he retorted, “Those who hosted terrorists and accompanied them to Kandahar need to introspect before raising fingers at the governments led by others. The kind of statements that came from BJP are very unfortunate. The NDA government conceded the demands of terrorists and released them compromising on national security. Besides, there were communal riots in Gujarat.”
He urged all political parties to rise above political levels and support the decisions taken by the Centre in the interest of the nation.
He said the UPA government did better than the NDA government on all fronts: communal harmony, political stability, national security and strengthening the economy.
Union minister Killi Krupa Rani, state ministers DK Aruna and Danam Nagender, and some other leaders met Tewari.
A delegation of Telangana Congress Monitoring Group headed by PCC general secretary G Niranjan submitted a memorandum to Tewari seeking an early decision on Telangana.