Seemandhra Congress leaders have pressed the panic button as the party high command has set the ball rolling for a final decision on the Telangana issue. A day after Vijayawada MP Lagadapti Rajagopal called upon lawmakers from the region to ensure the defeat of a possible Telangana resolution in the State Assembly, some diehard votaries of an undivided State joined chorus with the maverick MP on Wednesday.
Guntur MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao vowed to quit the Lok Sabha if the Congress top brass decided to bifurcate the State. He also threatened to vote against Telangana in case a bill was tabled.Minor Irrigation Minister TG Venkatesh linked the outcome of panchayat elections to the decision on T-State. Even though panchayat polls are ostensibly apolitical, the Rayalaseema leader gave a clarion call to the people to vote for Congress if they wanted to keep the State united.
“If you vote for Congress, we will ensure that the State is kept as it is. If you defeat Congress candidates, all of you will have to face the consequences,” he warned. Venkatesh put the blame for the Congress high command’s positive view of the Telangana demand squarely on the shoulders of YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Collectively, the Congress Seemandhra leaders are planning to hold meetings in Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Guntur and Anantapur as soon as possible to create awareness among people on the “adverse impact” of division of the State.Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, close aide of Union Minister K Chiranjeevi, and Sake Sailajanath, convener of Samaikyandhra Congress Legislators’ Forum, are chalking out an action plan for this purpose.
State government whip in the Legislative Council R Padma Raju on Wednesday said the Seemandhra Congress lawmakers had intensified efforts to hold regional meetings across Andhra and Rayalaseema.
It is learnt that they want to focus on possible water woes for the people of the two regions in case the State was divided.