Manmohan to take up Telangana issue with party core committee

“Any more delay will boomerang on the State government and party”


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday reportedly assured a delegation of Congress Ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs from the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh that he would take up their sentiments on forming a separate Telangana State with the party's core committee and also convey this message to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
June 15 meeting
Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has convened a meeting for June 15 with the elected representatives of the Congress from the region.
No comment


The Prime Minister also listened carefully and did not make any comment when the delegation, led by senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member K. Keshava Rao, conveyed to him that the people of the Telangana region were asking the elected representatives why they were not quitting their posts as they had failed to get them the separate State that was promised in the 2004 Congress election manifesto and subsequently promised by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on December 9, 2009 and mentioned in the President Pratibha Patil address to Parliament in 2010.
Naxalism
Congress Member of Parliament from Peddapalli, G. Vivekanand, who was part of the delegation, told The Hindu that the delegation conveyed to the Prime Minister the general apprehension on the revival of naxalism — which had been wiped out from the Telangana region — if the separate State was not formed immediately. The Prime Minister was informed about the urgency in taking a decision on the imbroglio as more than 600 persons had committed suicide for the cause of a Telangana State, he claimed.


The former APCC president and Rajya Sabha member, V. Hanumantha Rao, highlighted the need for taking specific action by the Centre on the issue as any further delay might boomerang on the government and the party.

Positive action
Mr. Kesava Rao said they had told Dr. Manmohan Singh in a clear-cut manner that the elected representatives could not continue in the posts for long if the Centre failed to take an early positive action on the contentious issue.
Two Ministers
Among others, the delegation was joined by Andhra Pradesh's Major Industries Minister J. Geeta Reddy, Primary Education Minister Sailajanath Sake, nine MPs from both Houses of Parliament, nine MLAs, and two MLCs. The meeting lasted for about 45 minutes.