Union Ministers and Congress MPs from Seemandhra, who have been upbeat of late over the apparent slowdown in the process of the formation of a Telangana State, appeared jubilant on Wednesday. They claimed the process will not be taken forward until their apprehensions were addressed.
They also asserted the T note will not be presented to the Union Cabinet until the AK Antony Committee submitted its final report to party president Sonia Gandhi. A delegation of Union Ministers and Congress MPs called on Petroleum Minister and member of the AK Antony panel M Veerappa Moily in Delhi on Wednesday.
They explained to Moily the intensity of the ongoing agitation in Andhra and Rayalaseema and requested him to persuade the party high command not to implement its decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
After meeting Moily, the Seemandhra lawmakers claimed he had assured them the T process will not be taken forward unless the panel submitted its final report to Sonia Gandhi on key issues such as status of Hyderabad and sharing of river waters between the two new States.
“Now, we are confident our party high command will not proceed further without evolving a consensus among all stakeholders on contentious issues. We believe the T note will not be presented to the Union Cabinet till the Antony Committee submits its final report to madam,” MP Ananta Venkatarami Reddy told Express.
According to him, Moily told the Seemandhra lawmakers that the Centre had taken note of the Samaikya agitation and was aware of Seemandhra apprehensions. “We have full knowledge of the severity of the United Andhra movement. Madam Sonia Gandhi does not turn a blind eye to the apprehensions of the people of your region. For her, people of all regions in AP are equal. So, you need not worry. The T process will be taken forward only after addressing the Seemandhra concerns,” Moily was quoted as saying.
Later in the evening, the Seemandhra lawmakers met Ahmed Patel, political secretary of Sonia Gandhi, and requested him to fix an appointment for them with her so that they could present their case before her once again. As Patel is also one of the members of the Antony Committee, they requested him to address the concerns of Seemandhra.
The Seemandhra Congress leaders are hopeful the T note would not be placed before the Union Cabinet meeting on Friday. Another MP claimed even some officials in the Union Home Ministry had clearly indicated that the T note would not be placed before the Union Cabinet on Friday as the issue of status of Hyderabad has become a problem.
However, the Telangana Congress leaders are still hopeful that the T note might be presented to the Union Cabinet before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the US from Sept 25.
If the note is not placed before the Cabinet before the Prime Minister’s US visit, it will be brought before it only after the first week of October, after the return of Manmohan Singh.