Hyderabad, July 07: Known for his favourable stance to the separate Telangana statehood demand, Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana is increasingly being looked on as the best option available for the Congress leaders from the region to act as a conduit between all the sections in the party, including the High Command to find a solution to the vexed issue.
By all accounts, Mr Satyanarayana is in a unique position.
He is the only leader from Seemandhra regions who has publicly spoken in favour of a separate Telangana state, stating that he has no objections if there are two states where Telugu is spoken.
Besides this, he is the Pradesh Congress Committee president, a post which enables him to summon all the leaders of the party from across the state and talk to them. Being the PCC chief also gives him easy access to the High Command and his words carry enough weightage.
Perhaps taking this into account, Congress leaders are steadily building pressure on Mr Satyanarayana to take the lead and act as a conduit between the various components of the Congress party.
On Wednesday, former Congress minister R Damodar Reddy appealed to Mr Satyanarayana to honour his promise made to Telangana people that he has no objection to two Telugu speaking states.
Talking to media persons at Congress Legislature Party Office, Mr Damodar Reddy opined that the PCC chief should take the initiative in solving the imbroglio and honour that particular promise.
The former minister also reminded him that the Congress leaders from Telangana had not opposed his appointment as the PCC chief, even though he hailed from Seemandhra regions, as he supported the Telangana statehood demand.
Mr Damodar Reddy urged Mr Satyanarayana to use his influence with the party leaders from Seemandhra regions and prevail on them to agree to the division of the state.
“Except the formation of Telangana state, we do not want anything. We have submitted our resignations only for the sake of Telangana statehood and not to create any Constitutional crisis,” he stated.
Senior leader KR Amos however was slightly more aggravated, questioning the rationale behind the Centre’s approach of continuing the consultation process on the issue.
He said that, “there is no need for discussions. Only through announcement of Telangana state, the problem can be solved.”
Another senior leader from Telangana, Palvai Govardhan Reddy demanded that the Centre make immediate efforts for solving the Telangana issue instead of resorting to delaying tactics.
He appealed to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram to focus his attention in resolving the issue. Mr Govardhan Reddy also warned Mr Chidambaram that the Congress party could be washed out from the region if it fails to announce a favourable decision.
They all asked Mr Satyanarayana to take the initiative in this regard.
——–Agencies