Hyderabad, January 04: The ruling Congress today saw the pro and anti Telangana camps marshalling their respective arguments to persuade the Centre to rule in their favour.
The Telangana votaries met at the new MLA quarters and decided to send a delegation of 30 MLAs and MLCs to sound the Congress core committee and submit a memorandum to the party high command focusing on the need for the formation of a separate State.
For their part, ministers and MPs from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions met at the ministers’ quarters. In attendance were 17 ministers and 11 MPs, including Union ministers for State D Purandareswari and Pallam Raju.
Senior leader N Janardhan Reddy and Rajya Sabha member KVP Ramachandra Rao were also present at the meeting which decided to utilise the services of senior leader G Venkata Reddy to prepare a document to be submitted at the all-party meeting.
The meeting opined that there was “no need for the creation of Telangana because the State capital, Hyderabad, is the heart of the Telangana region”.
Briefing mediapersons on the decisions taken, municipal administration minister Anam Ramanarayan Reddy said they would build a strong case for integration.
Meanwhile, MLAs and MLCs from Seemandhra decided to hold a convention in Hyderabad on January 10 on the “Samaikyandhra” demand. The meeting extended its support to tomorrow’s bandh in the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. They also supported protest programmes on January 5 in the two regions.
Several leaders took strong objection to “Samakyandhra” activists of the Congress criticising Sonia Gandhi and feared that this “would create several problems in taking the movement forward”.
Speaking to mediapersons, Government Whip Shailajanath said they would finalise their future action plan after observing what course the January 5 talks take. “While not participating in tomorrow’s bandh and the following day’s `Black Day ‘ programmes, they would extend solidarity to the protesters,” he said.
–Agencies