Hyderabad, February 09: Telangana Congress leaders are in an unenviable situation.
With no word on Telangana statehood coming from the Centre, they find the going tough with the TRS and the TJAC going full throttle with their agitation. They seem to be worried about the non-cooperation movement to be organised by the TJAC partners from February 17, which, according to TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao, will bring the state administration to a standstill.
Congress leaders, who cannot take part in the non-cooperation movement for obvious reasons, are hoping against hope for a favourable indication from Delhi to help them tide over the crisis.
According to sources in the Congress, MLAs, MLCs and ministers have coalesced into one group while the MPs formed another, and are making separate efforts to bring pressure on the government while, at the same time, taking care not to hurt the party high command. The only hope that keeps them going is that the high command understands the ground situation and will do something that will keep the party alive in the Telangana region. They are more or less reconciled to the fact that the Centre might not take any decision on the Justice BN Srikrishna Committee’s report nor will facilitate any discussion on Telangana in Parliament. The only option left for them is to keep on pressing the Telangana demand but not to cross the party’s Lakshmana Rekha.
The party’s elected representatives in the region may declare support for the noncooperation movement for people’s consumption and undertake a journey to Delhi and try to meet Sonia Gandhi.
They are expected to visit Delhi on February 14 and 15.
If the high command remains unmoved, then some leader might take part in the noncooperation movement in a way to demonstrate their commitment to the cause but not to defy the high command.
They will continue to meet now and then to let people know that they too are doing whatever is possible within their capacity for the T cause.
‘’By then the Parliament and Assembly sessions will have come to an end, Then they will come up with another strategy to convince the people that they had not forsaken T cause,”’ an MLA said.
MP and CWC special invitee K Keshava Rao, who is playing a key role in the Congress MPs’ camp, is going to Delhi to explain the urgency of the issue to Congress top leaders.
The Congress leaders are not very hopeful of getting the appointment of Sonia Gandhi.
‘ No Congress leader from Telangana has got her appointment in the recent past. I doubt if she will oblige in the near future,’’ said one minister from the region.
–Agencies