Hyderabad, March 06: Ruling Congress MLAs hailing from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions have decided to visit New Delhi after the ongoing Budget session of the state Assembly and bring pressure on the party high command to keep Andhra Pradesh united.
Their colleagues from Telangana, who held a separate meeting here on Saturday night, too decided to rush to the national capital on March 12 demanding creation of Telangana state.
State Ministers hailing from the region, who had written a letter to AICC President Sonia Gandhi demanding a speedy decision on Telangana, would seek an appointment with her to press their case further.
“We (MPs, MLAs and MLCs) all shall submit our resignations to Sonia Gandhi if she does not give a positive assurance on creation of a separate state,” senior MLA R Damodar Reddy announced at the end of the meeting.
“We have resolved to request the Congress high command as well as the Centre to implement the sixth option (keeping AP united) suggested by the Justice Srikrishna Committee.
However, we will accept whatever decision the Centre takes based on the Committee’s recommendations,” School Education Minister S Sailajanath told newsmen after a meeting of party legislators from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions here today.
Ministers D L Ravindra Reddy, Botsa Satyanarayana, Vatti Vasantha Kumar, N Raghuveera Reddy, senior legislator J C Diwakar Reddy, several MLAs and MLCs attended the meeting, where the Andhra-Rayalaseema leaders discussed the strategy to be adopted in the wake of the ongoing agitations for the creation of Telangana state.
MLAs belonging to Praja Rajyam Party, which will soon be formally merged with Congress, also took part in the meet.
“We will mount pressure on the Centre as well as our high command not to give in to the demand for division of the state. We want Andhra Pradesh to remain so,” Sailajanath asserted.
At the meeting of the Congress legislators hailing from Telangana, the party’s MPs from the region told the MLAs and MLCs that the high command has advised them to observe restraint till the end of Assembly elections in five states.
“We can hope for a positive decision thereafter,” the MPs reportedly said.
The MPs have decided to stage a sit-in at Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Parliament premises every day to push the Centre for a favourable decision on creation of Telangana state.
The Telangana MLAs and MLCs, on the other hand, would continue to boycott the ongoing Budget session of the legislature till March 12 and subsequently review their decision.
—PTI