Congress still in a fix over Telangana, CWC to take call

New Delhi, July 12: A

panel comprising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief

met on Friday to decide the

issue but finally the call was left to the party's highest decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

Senior party leader Digvijaya Singh said after the meeting that the final call will be taken in a meeting of the CWC. He said the party leadership had spoken to all political leaders and the core group also heard what Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and his deputy had to say on the contentious issue.

Reddy and other state leaders spoke on various options available in the issue. The Andhra CM also met Sonia Gandhi before the meeting, which also saw the participation of party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress reportedly lacks a consensus on the matter and party leaders from Telangana want nothing less than a separate state. They are not even ready for financial packages. On the other hand, protesters from the coastal and Rayalaseema regions oppose Telangana and also called a strike on Friday.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti leader K T Rama Rao, who withdrew from the UPA in 2006 over the issue, said there is no reason to trust the Congress on setting up a separate Telangana state, going by the past records.

Opposition BJP also accused the Congress of betraying with the people, saying the Manmohan Singh government had promised to set up Telangana within one year of coming to power in 2004 but nothing materialised. It said the unfulfilled dream will be fulfilled if the NDA comes to power.

Telangana has been one of the most violent and longest agitations for statehood in India. The Lok Sabha and assembly polls scheduled next year have also put more pressure on the Congress to take a fast decision. The options are limited for the party and also the time is running out, admitted Digvijay Singh.

There are only two ptions before the Congress on Telangana and they are: either create a separate state or form an autonomous council equipped with freedom in governance.

OneIndia News