Congress leaders from Seemandhra region failed to arrive at a unanimous decision on how to exert pressure on their high command to stop it from bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.
As ministers TG Venkatesh and Erasu Prathap Reddy briefed Congress leaders from Seemandhra that their high command has made up its mind to form Telangana state, some participants at the meeting tried to raise the temperature by announcing their readiness to resign from their posts.
Moreover, the proposal seems to have drawn cold response from Seemandhra MLAs as several of them wanted to abide by the party decision in this regard.
After passing a resolution urging the Centre as well as the Congress high command to keep the present Andhra Pradesh state undisturbed as per the wish of former prime minister the late Indira Gandhi, the participants decided to undertake a Delhi tour on January 21 with a large contingent of Seemandhra Congress MLAs.
Despite the objections from Telangana activists, Seemandhra Congress leaders held a meeting at the Club House at Ministers’ Quarters here on Thursday in support of “Samaikyandra”.
According to sources, of the four ministers who met the AICC top brass in Delhi on Wednesday, TG Venkatesh and Erasu Prathap Reddy briefed the meeting that the high command was in favour of statehood for Telangana so as to contain the growth of YSRC in the region.
Then, minister Ghanta Srinivasa Rao, MLA Veera Siva Reddy and MLC M Sudhakar Babu suggested resignation by all the Seemandhra ministers and MLAs as the only way to pressurise the high command not to go ahead with bifurcating the state.
However, several other ministers like Dokka Manikya Varaprasad, Kanna Lakshmi Narayana and K Parthasaradhi differed with this suggestion.
They felt that it would only attract the wrath of the high command. “Once we violate our party discipline by tendering resignations, we will not get audience with the high command to air our views. So, let us keep this as the last option,” the leaders said.
When TG Venkatesh and Erasu divulged that the AICC leadership was ready to face the consequences of dividing the state, including the fall of Kiran Kumar Reddy government, several ministers were taken aback.
Manikya Varaprasad, Kanna Lakshmi Narayana and K Parthasaradhi asked their peers to once again convey their wish of keeping Andhra Pradesh as it is and resolved to abide by the decision of the high command in this regard.
However, former minister Gade Venkata Reddy wanted their voice raised in an aggressive manner, saying, “Being a national party, Congress should not take any decision on the issue of state bifurcation with keeping short-term political interests in mind. It is not correct to divide the state only to contain Jagan Reddy.”
Meanwhile, minister Vatti Vasanth Kumar asked the leaders to undertake a tour to Delhi on January 21 to mount pressure on the high command, to which all agreed.
Minister Kondru Murali Mohan expressed his displeasure over party MPs from Seemandhra saying, “Telangana MPs are unanimously putting in all efforts to get statehood to their region.
But, our MPs are doing nothing to lobby for keeping the state as it is. What are our Union ministers doing in this regard? There is no unanimity among us on the issue of Samaikyandra”