Telangana Congress leaders keep hopes alive

HYDERABAD: The Telangana Congress public representatives who went on a mission to Delhi to mount pressure on the party leaders and request them to “find some solution” to the contentious separate Telangana issue are now awaiting the high command’s decision.The leaders including MPs, MLAs and ministers are confident of the success of their mission and yet are preparing an action programme just in case. They have decided to meet here on July 1 or 3 to discuss and finalise their plan of action.They claimed that core committee members Pranab Mukherjee, AK Antony and Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel had assured them of a decision within a week though the Telangana leaders had given them time till July 1.As per the action plan, the leaders will launch an indefinite hunger strike in Hyderabad on July 5 if no response comes forth from the party leadership. In case their hunger strike is foiled by the police, fast-unto-death will be undertaken by leaders at the mandal and village levels. If that too does not work,, all Telangana Congress public representatives will, as a last weapon, submit resignation letters.Ghanpur Station MLA T Rajaiah said that they had brought “required pressure” on the party Central leaders and the response was quite positive. That the high command was seized of the Telangana issue was proved by the Congress core committee holding a meeting in Delhi on Saturday to discuss it, he claimed.G Sukhender Reddy, MP from Nalgonda, said that they had made it clear to the central leaders that there can be no alternative to state’s bifurcation. Senior leader and minister K Jana Reddy had clearly told prime minister Manmohan Singh and core committee members Pranab Mukherjee and Ahmed Patel that Telangana Congress leaders would not be in a position to move in their constituencies and other parts of the region.“The response to our views and arguments was very positive. Pranab Mukherjee said they had never said that they were against state’s bifurcation.He even thanked us for following their directive to wait till the completion of Assembly elections in five states,” Reddy said.As for the future plan, the Nalgonda MP said that apart from going on hunger strike, the MPs would stall the proceedings of Parliament during its next session which was likely to commence in the third week of July.BC welfare minister B Saraiah too exuded confidence of achieving statehood for Telangana. “We are waiting for the party high command’s decision before going on hunger strike from July 5,” he said.