T - Cong MPs to issue Ultimatum for Telangana

Congress MPs from the Telangana region are planning to give an ultimatum to the party high command to take a positive decision on the separate statehood demand or face consequences.

T-Congress MPs held a conclave at panchayat raj minister K. Jana Reddy’s residence late on Sunday night and decided to write a letter to AICC president Sonia Gandhi on the political situation in the state and to request her to take an immediate decision on Telangana.

The MPs, who have been vocal on the T-demand, asked Jana Reddy to take the lead and also to mobilise T-ministers who are going in different directions on the T-issue, thus ensuring they are all on one platform.

The MPs plan to wait till December 9 and then take a decision on the next course of action if there was no response from Congress high command.

Senior party leaders and MPs who attended the meeting included K. Kesava Rao, Gutta Sukhender Reddy, M.Jagannadham, P. Prabhakar and G. Vivek.

The MPs, who are also peeved at the denial of Cabinet berths despite their seniority, were unanimous in their opinion that the Congress will not win in Telangana if it fails to take a decision before the 2014 elections.

Sources said some of the MPs were of the opinion that they should form a separate front to go to polls.

This section of the MPs opined that if the party high command objected to the formation of such a front, they would have no option but to quit the Congress.

Some of them were also sore over the style of functioning of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, especially on the issue of appointment of ANGRAU vice-chancellor.

When contacted, Dr Vivek told this newspaper that the MPs and other party leaders discussed the present political situation in state, especially in Telangana region, party position in Telangana, TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s attack on the Congress and assertion that Congress has no intention to give Telang-ana, padayatras by TD and YSRC leaders.

“No Telangana, no chance for Congress. Congress will be routed if it fails to carve out separate state before the polls. We are still hopeful of a positive decision on Telangana. The entire discussion focused on how to protect the party,” Dr Vivek said.

When told about Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s statement that they have to wait for some more time for Centre to take a decision on Telangana, he said the meeting opined that they would wait till December 9 and decide on the next course of action.

Kesava Rao said T-Congress MPs and other leaders would write a final letter to Ms Sonia Gandhi in two days detailing the present political situation and the need to carve out Telangana without further delay to save the party.

“We request the Congress high command to take a decision by December 9. We will mention in the letter the next course of action if Telangana is delayed beyond December 9. We still expect a positive decision by the high command,” he said.