Centre drags feet on Telangana formation

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday put on hold its December 9 commitment on the formation of Telangana by pointing to the “altered situation” and “divisions” in political parties in Andhra Pradesh after the announcement. It spoke of “wide-ranging consultations” with all political parties and groups before proceeding any further.

The Centre’s announcement provoked sharp reactions from pro-Telangana leaders a day after the ruling party’s own MPs warned of “serious repercussions” if the Congress-led UPA government “diluted” its commitment. In fact, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao had declared on Tuesday that more than 100 MLAs would be willing to resign from the Andhra Pradesh assembly if the Centre’s promise of a separate Telangana did not materialize.

Just before the Centre’s announcement was made on Wednesday night, Mr Rao shot down the need for a “consensus” in the state for the formation of Telangana.

Telangana leaders are expected to meet on Thursday to chalk out their future plan of action to pressurize the Centre. Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah, anticipating violent protests from pro-Telangana activists
after the Centre’s statement, held an emergency meeting to put in place adequate security arrangements in the region.

The statement said: “At an all-party meeting on December 7, 2009, convened by chief minister K Rosaiah consensus emerged on Telangana. A statement was made on December 9 on behalf of the government of India on receipt of the minutes of the meeting. After the meeting, the situation in Andhra Pradesh has altered. A large number of political parties are divided and there is need to hold wide-ranging consultations with all parties and groups.

The government of India will take steps to involve all concerned in the process”.
The statement read out by Union home minister P Chidambaram also appealed for the restoration of “peace and harmony” in the state and asked all protesting groups, including students to withdraw their agitations.

The statement like its predecessor is unambiguous. There is little scope for pro-Telangana leaders to interpret it in a way that will satisfy their concerns.

One of the first reactions to the statement came from BJP which slammed the Congress-led Centre for its handling of the entire issue and described the Wednesday’s statement as a “U-turn”.

The statement was put out after hectic consultations between the top Congress leaders on Wednesday. Union home minister P Chidambaram, Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, AICC in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Veerappa Moily and senior leaders Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony held several rounds of meetings and also briefed Ms Gandhi about the statement before it was made public. Congress had struggled to find the right words that would satisfy leaders from both camps. There were series of meetings with Telangana MPs as well as those from coastal Andhra and Rayalseema on Tuesday.