T Cong leaders agree to discuss Hyderabad as common capital

The proposal of having Hyderabad as the common capital of Telangana and Seemandhra states has found many takers, at least in the Congress party.

Congress MP Undavalli Arun Kumar mooted a proposal stating that Hyderabad be made the common capital in case the state is bifurcated. Arun Kumar personally discussed the proposal after meeting several Telangana leaders. He also invited them for a meeting in Rajahmundry to discuss the same.

The same proposal was discussed in the meeting of Telangana Congress Steering Committee held at Rajya Sabha MP K Keshava Rao's residence here on Saturday. Briefing the reporters after the meeting, Congress MP Balram Naik said that the Arun Kumar's proposal was logical. However, the Telangana leaders might discuss the same only if Hyderabad remains the common capital for a limited period of 10 to 15 years. But, before doing so, the technicalities of the proposal with all concerned.

Balram Naik said that many Seemandhra leaders did not oppose the creation of Telangana state, but they were concerned about their stake in Hyderabad. "If we could discuss and resolve this issue at our level, then it would be easier for the Centre to announce statehood for the Telangana region," he said.

The Congress MP also regretted that the leaders from Telangana and Seemandhra never sat together to discuss the issue. "Leaders from the both the sides are just issuing media statements criticising each other. Even at the national level, the leaders separately met the High Command with their demands. But we never had a common meeting to discuss the issue," he said.

However, Rajagopal Reddy said that there no question of going back on Telangana demand. "Leaders from both sides could meet in New Delhi to resolves differences and arrive at a consensus. But we will not agree for anything less than statehood for Telangana region," he said.