Hyderabad, January 19: Despite reservations expressed by some Congress leaders, the all-party Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) today appealed to public representatives from the region to stick to their decision to quit their posts by January 28.
“The leaders should quit their posts if the Centre failed to make a statement in favour of formation of the separate Telangana state by January 28. This is to show their non-cooperation towards the united Andhra Pradesh government,” JAC convener C Kodandaram told reporters.
“Telangana supporters would work for the re-election of those who quit their posts,” he said.
Congress MPs like S Satyanarayana and P Prabhakar said the resignations by the public representatives would only precipitate a crisis instead of facilitating the formation of the separate state.
Seeking to put Congress in a tight spot, senior TDP leader N Janardhan Reddy said mounting pressure on the Centre is necessary for the formation of separate Telangana. He asked the Congress leaders to take the lead in quitting their posts.
He was speaking at the Indira Park here where Telangana leaders and other protagonists continued their relay hunger strikes in support of the separate statehood demand for the third day today.
Senior TDP MLA T Harishwar Reddy and several leaders from other parties and Telangana outfits took part in the day-long fast.
Congress legislators in spot over resignations
The ruling Congress legislators from Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh are caught in a dilemma over the issue of quitting their posts.
The legislators are in a quandary as they are squeezed between the Telangana supporters and the party leadership.
The Telangana supporters have asked them to get the resignations accepted to mount pressure on the Centre to take urgent steps for formation of a separate state. The party leadership, however, has directed them to withdraw the resignations.
The MLAs and other public representatives submitted their resignations over the Centre’s alleged failure to initiate the process of formation of Telangana state.
State Congress President D Srinivas, who held a meeting with the Telangana Congress MLAs today, told them to withdraw their resignations, party sources said.
“We shared our feelings on the Telangana issue. We are confident that the Centre would make a statement by January 28 in favour of separate Telangana. We will have a meeting on January 21. We will also meet the high command, if necessary,” senior Congress MLA R Damodar Reddy said after the meeting with Srinivas.
However, the Telangana Congress leaders came under pressure from the all-party Joint Action Committee (JAC) from the region, formed to spearhead the agitation for separate state, to quit their posts.
C Kodandaram, Convener of the JAC, today said the leaders should get the resignations accepted to mount pressure on the Centre.
“All leaders should quit their posts if the Centre failed to make a statement in favour of formation of the separate Telangana state by January 28. Telangana supporters shall work for the re-election of those who quit their posts,” Kodandaram said.
The JAC had earlier set out a deadline for the Centre to come out with a timeframe on statehood issue by January 28 failing which all lawmakers of the region will press for acceptance of their resignations.
The decision of the JAC regarding the deadline has been opposed by Congress MPs like S Satyanarayana and P Prabhakar.
–PTI–