Hyderabad, July 04: Making it clear that they were not going to backtrack, Telangana Congress MPs, MLAs and MLCs on Sunday asserted that they would submit their resignations en masse on Monday even as the party counselled patience, asking them to “rise over emotions and view things dispassionately”.
“We are not quitting the party. We have decided to resign for the sake of Telangana. We humbly request again that Telangana be given, Ponnam Prabhakar, Karimnagar MP, told reporters in Hyderabad.
“As per the collective decision taken on July 1 by Congress MLAs, Ministers, MLCs and MPs, we (Telangana Congress MPs) are going to Delhi. We have decided to submit our resignations between 11 am and 12 noon on July 4,” he said.
In Delhi, Cong spokesperson Manish Tewari said, “Geopolitical gerrymandering, especially when it pertains to proposed re-drawing of a State boundary is a very complex, intricate and sensitive business”.
He said the “first requisite of such an exercise is patience and patience as conflicting aspirations of various stakeholders has to be reconciled in a harmonious manner. It is especially true in the Andhra/Telangana matter”.
“It becomes the responsibility of the elected representatives of the people to rise over emotions and view things dispassionately from both the State and the national perspective, keeping the best interests in mind,” he said.
In a joint statement issued in Delhi on Saturday night, nine Congress MPs said they would meet Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar at 11 am on Monday to tender their resignations. Rajya Sabha member and senior Congress leader K Keshav Rao will meet chairman Hamid Ansari to put in his papers.
The legislators have threatened to quit unless the Centre initiates steps for the formation of a separate Telangana state, on the lines of the December 9, 2009 announcement made by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
–PTI-