Parties keep guessing until Jan 5 on T-tangle

Hyderabad, Dec 31: Political parties attending the New Delhi conclave on January 5 to voice the ``desire of the people for a separate State,’’ are keeping their fingers crossed as no agenda has been formulated as yet for the discussions. At the most, the meeting may set the guidelines for future talks, political pundits suggest.Congress MLAs and MPs representing Telangana and Andhra heaved a sigh of relief on the latest developments, when the Centre called for an all-party meet on the T-issue.The convening of the meeting has certainly exposed the Telugu Desam Party to embarrassment due to its U-turn on the Telangana issue.

It may also shed light on the strategic silence resorted to by TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu. Foreseeing the intricacies, which are bound to raise during the meeting, the TDP is planning to keep away from the meeting under the pretext that Congress has not spelt out its stand on Telangana.The Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the staunch supporter of separate Telangana is neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the scheduled   meeting on January 5.`` We will have to see how the discussions will go on and only then can we react,’’ TRS chief Chandrasekhar said.

Taking into consideration the other parties in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) support the demand for Telangana state, while the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) may oppose it. The MIM is still undecided on the issue.Under these circumstances, it will be an uphill task for the Union Home Ministry to carve out a decision, which satisfies all. Additionally, the Centre has not yet made it clear as to how many leaders from each party should attend the meeting.At some point or the other the parties should honour the sentiments of the others to break the jinx on the ticklish Telangana tangle.