Telangana announcement in 15 days?

Hyderabad: The TRS leadership is confident that the Centre will make an announcement on Telangana in the next 15 days. Party chief K Chandrasekhara Rao's supporters claim that the Congress leadership has dropped subtle hints to him to this effect. But the TDP is very sceptical about the Congress making any statement on state's bifurcation. It is under the impression that the Congress will raise the curtain on another round of consultations, this time with the MPs from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.

One senior TDP leader says: “The AICC leadership initiated the process of dialogue with all stakeholders after there was opposition to the statement by the then Union home minister P Chidambaram on December 9, 2009. AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad held talks with leaders of all the regions and submitted a report to the party leadership on what could be done. Now the leadership will initiate another round of discussions with coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema leaders. Then, after this exercise, the party may place its decision before the UPA for further discussion."

The TDP leader suspects that the Congress leadership is trying to defer a decision. Or else why should it encourage leaders of the three regions to talk loudly inside and outside Parliament, he wonders. As far as the TDP is concerned, it will continue its wait-and-watch policy whereas the Congress and the TRS keep saying untiringly that Telangana will become a reality `soon'. The TDP leader is, however, hopeful that the Congress will address the issue in right earnest after the monsoon session of Parliament.

There are Doubting Thomases in the Congress too. They are worried that the party might use this consultations process only to subserve its political interests. Though Telangana Congress and TRS leaders sound optimistic about separate Telangana, coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema MPs including Kavuri and Ananta Venkatarami Reddy say they are dead against bifurcation of the state. Andhra Congress MPs are building pressure on the AICC leadership to announce that the state will remain intact. There might be a statement, afterall, from the Congress high command but it may be aimed at knowing the reaction from Andhra leaders. The Centre's next move will depend on how Andhra reacts.