Seven Congress Lok Sabha members hailing from the Telangana region are to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi here on Wednesday before submitting their resignations for what they call “the Congress’ delaying tactics on Telangana”.
The members of Parliament (MPs) include Madhu Yashki Goud, Ponnam Prabhakar, S Rajaiah, K Rajagopal Reddy, Gutta Sukhender Reddy, Manda Jagannatham and G Vivekanand.
The MPs claimed that they had received a call from senior Congress leader Vayalar Ravi asking them to come to the national capital to discuss the Telangana issue.
There is speculation that Union ministers from the Telangana region could also contemplate resigning.
Dismissing such suggestions, Sarve Satyanarayana, a Telangana region MP and minister of state of road, transport and highways, told Business Standard from London, “The Congress party is fully committed to fulfilling its promise to the people of Telangana. But it wants to take everyone on board and hence the delay.” He said vested interests were trying to play mischief and defame the Congress party.
Even Telangana MPs from the Rajya Sabha like Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu have been lobbying with the Congress leadership in Delhi. In a letter to Gandhi, Rapolu stated, “Delay is (being) treated as indecisiveness to save the party in the ensuing 2014 polls.” He has urged the party to fulfill its promise.
The inability of All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to stick to the January 28 deadline on taking a decision on Telangana has left the Congress legislators from Andhra in disarray.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader K Chandrasekhar Rao has been utilising this opportunity to attack the Congress and accuse it of betraying the people. Rao has been goading the Congress MPs from the region to resign and join the TRS as the party has failed to honour its promise.