Hyderabad, February 14: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana has finally endorsed resignations as the most potent weapon to secure Telangana State and declared that the process would begin Sunday even as a majority of the Congress MLAs decided not to quit for fear of incurring the wrath of the party leadership.
JAC convener Prof M Kodandaram said after a five-hour long meeting at a hotel which went on late into the night: “The members have decided to resign. The JAC has information that 10 TRS, one BJP and four Congress MLAs (these latter will resign on Monday) want to quit. We hope more legislators will follow suit. Meanwhile, after assembling at the JAC office tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., we will go to the office of the Speaker.” The JAC meeting was attended, among others, by TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao, N Janardhan Reddy (TDP), R Damodar Reddy (Cong) and Ch Vidyasagara Rao (BJP).
The Telugu Desam MLAs, for their part, have stuck to their stand that constitutional pressure cannot be brought to bear on the Centre unless the Congress members resign.
After the JAC meeting, TDP leader N Janardhan Reddy said: “The Congress has 53 MLAs in the region. Of these, only four have come forward to quit. It will not help. We are ready to resign if a majority of the Congress legislators put in their papers.” Earlier in the day, even as the Congress MLAs were engaged in deliberations, a group of lawyers staging a demonstration outside the venue demanded that the legislators lose no time quitting. They heckled former minister K Jana Reddy too.
Meanwhile, the bandh called by the Osmania University students passed off peacefully in the Telangana districts.
Only four legislators of the Congress came out openly with their decision to resign after a five-hour-long meeting between MLAs, MLCs and MPs from Telangana at the New MLA Quarters earlier. They were: R Damodar Reddy, Narasa Reddy, Bikshapathy Goud and Ch Muthyam Reddy. A majority of the MLAs decided to stick to their seats saying they would “steer a middle course” by not attending the budget session of the Assembly beginning on Monday.
As for the Congress MLAs who have decided not to quit, sources say it is out of obedience to the party high command “which is their boss,” though they feel that the terms of reference of the Justice BN Srikrishna Committee are against formation of Telangana State.
The stay-putters are offering the justification that by doing so they will be in a better position to “bring pressure” on their party and veer it round to their point of view.
——-Agencies