No option other than separate T acceptable: MPs to Azad

The Telangana Congress MPs on Friday issued an ultimatum to Congress In-Charge of Andhra Pradesh Affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad that no option other than to form a separate Telangana state is acceptable to them.

The MPs after meeting Mr Azad at his residence in New Delhi told media persons that they had urged him and the Centre to make a clear announcement on formation of Telangana state before May 15.

“We can wait for a clear announcement on Telangana up to May 15. After that, the situation in Telangana may be not in our hands,” the MPs told Mr Azad.

They also told him that the Centre can make a statement on Telangana in the first week of June week after the outcome of election results in five states.

“We cannot go back to our constituencies with empty hands. The people of the region will not allow us to travel in our own constituencies freely if we do not manage to achieve the formation of a separate state,” they stated.

The MPs also warned that they would resign to their posts after the June first week deadline 15 expires. The Telangana leaders of the Congress also brushed aside the argument that Telangana Rashtra Samithi and its chief K Chandrasekhar Rao will benefit politically if the Centre agrees to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.

They stated the Congress will not lose its base in Seemandhra and Telangana regions in the event of formation of Telangana.

MPs Madhu Yashki Goud and Ponnam Prabhakar told Mr Azad that they would convince the TRS chief to merge his party in the Congress if Telangana state is declared.

The MPs also raised serious objection to the contents in the eighth chapter of Justice Srikrishna Committee Report, which opined that the Maoist presence and communal violence will increase in the event of formation of Telangana state.

The Report is opposed to formation of Telangana and will provoke the people of the region, the MPs are believed to have told Mr Azad.

MP Sarvey Satyanarayana stated the Congress party will not suffer any damage in the event of bifurcation. He expressed confidence that the Congress will get at least 15 seats in Telangana. 

He also rejected the proposal of convening a joint meeting with Seemandhra MPs. “The Telangana MPs are not ready to sit with Seemandhra MPs until the Centre announces a decision on Telangana as it would send wrong message among people of the region. We will not agree to Seemandhra MPs’ views as their interests are different,” he stated.