Telangana Congress leaders threaten to quit next month
With the Congress high command refusing to take a final call on Telangana statehood issue, the party’s legislators and members of Parliament from the region have threatened to resign and go on indefinite fast from next month to press their demand.
By NIDHI SHARMA, ET Bureau | Updated:
NEW DELHI: With the Congress high command refusing to take a final call on Telangana statehood issue, the party’s legislators and members of Parliament from the region have threatened to resign and go on indefinite fast from next month to press their demand.
Congress’ MPs and legislators have been camping in the national capital and meeting central leaders to impress upon them about the urgency of taking a decision on statehood. Though the Telangana leaders have met central leaders, including P Chidambaram, A K Antony and Congress president’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, no formal assurance has come their way.
The MPs and legislators have now decided to write a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi stating that they would be forced to put in their resignations and openly lend support to the “people’s movement” for a separate Telangana. The matter came up for discussion in the party’s core group meeting on Friday evening.
The Congress president was apprised of the demands of Telangana leaders. “We have decided to wait till the end of this month and then start our stir from July 5. We will sit on an indefinite fast to press our demand. The party’s legislators, MPs and councillors have decided to put in their resignations if there is no decision. This is what our constituents want us to do,” said Congress MP Madhu Goud Yakshi.
So far, 17 MLAs, six Andhra Cabinet ministers, eight councilors and 12 MPs have written their resignations and submitted them to Rajya Sabha MP K Keshava Rao. Sources said that these resignations would not be given to the party president but the Speaker.
“People think that giving it to party president is mere posturing and it has no legal sanctity. They think we are not serious about this issue. So we will submit these to Speaker when we take a final decision on the timing of these resignations,” a senior Congress leader said.
“We have told the leaders that we would not come again. We have told all the core group members that if they have anything to tell us or any decision to convey, they should call us. We have now no face to go back to our constituents,” said Yakshi.
Congress’ MPs and legislators have been camping in the national capital and meeting central leaders to impress upon them about the urgency of taking a decision on statehood. Though the Telangana leaders have met central leaders, including P Chidambaram, A K Antony and Congress president’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, no formal assurance has come their way.
The MPs and legislators have now decided to write a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi stating that they would be forced to put in their resignations and openly lend support to the “people’s movement” for a separate Telangana. The matter came up for discussion in the party’s core group meeting on Friday evening.
The Congress president was apprised of the demands of Telangana leaders. “We have decided to wait till the end of this month and then start our stir from July 5. We will sit on an indefinite fast to press our demand. The party’s legislators, MPs and councillors have decided to put in their resignations if there is no decision. This is what our constituents want us to do,” said Congress MP Madhu Goud Yakshi.
So far, 17 MLAs, six Andhra Cabinet ministers, eight councilors and 12 MPs have written their resignations and submitted them to Rajya Sabha MP K Keshava Rao. Sources said that these resignations would not be given to the party president but the Speaker.
“People think that giving it to party president is mere posturing and it has no legal sanctity. They think we are not serious about this issue. So we will submit these to Speaker when we take a final decision on the timing of these resignations,” a senior Congress leader said.
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The exasperation in the Telangana camp of Congress is quite apparent. The leaders feel that they have lost face before their electorate because of the “indecision” of the Congress. “We have told the leaders that we would not come again. We have told all the core group members that if they have anything to tell us or any decision to convey, they should call us. We have now no face to go back to our constituents,” said Yakshi.
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