Hyderabad, September 11: Choosing a safe path, the Telangana Congress Steering Committee on Saturday decided not to participate in the by-elections for Banswada assembly seat.
The seat fell vacant after TDP MLA Pocharam Srinivas resigned from the party to join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. By-polls for Banswada seat are scheduled to be held on October 13 and with Telangana sentiments running high and Pocharam himself deciding to re-contest on TRS ticket, the chances of Congress winning the seat are very sleek. Therefore, instead of contest and consequent humiliation, the Telangana Congress leaders have decided to stay away from the by-polls.
Talking to reporters after the committee’s crucial meeting here on Saturday, Congress MP Gutta Sukhender Reddy said that the Congress high command and PCC President Botsa Satyanarayana would be convinced to boycott the Banswada by-polls. However, he said that the decision to stay away from the by-polls was aimed to create constitutional crisis. He said all parties from Telangana should stay from the by-polls to mount pressure on the centre to take an early decision on Telangana formation.
The committee also demanded that the State Government celebrate Hyderabad Liberation Day on September 17 at the official level. The Telangana Congress leaders would organise separate functions at all party offices and the government must organised a State function in the State’s capital, Sukhender Reddy demanded.
Sukhender Reddy said that the steering committee in its meeting also demanded a thorough probe into the reports of police atrocities against the students of Kakatiya University in Warangal. “The guilty policemen must be identified and they must be immediately suspended from services. He said criminal cases should also be booked against the police personnel who tortured students,” he demanded. However, he also condemned the attack on the residences of Telangana ministers.
The Telangana Congress leaders also extended their support to the general strike from September 13 called by the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee. Sukhender Reddy appeal to all the sections of the society to support participate in the general strike to mount pressure on both the state and central governments to grant statehood for Telangana region.
Regarding Congress MP U Arun Kumar’s proposal that Seemandhra leaders would agree for Telangana, if Hyderabad is made a joint capital for both the States, Sukhender Reddy said that the committee would consider the proposal if Hyderabad is made capital for a limited period of 10 to 15 years.
The Telangna Congress Steering Committee also extended its own deadline from September 17 to September 30 given to the Centre to announce its stand on Telangana.
——Agencies