Rao sacrifices ministry

The move by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief N Chandrasekhara Rao to give up the shipping portfolio today helped defuse the crisis brewing in the Congress-led government over portfolio allocation to DMK ministers.

Rao met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi earlier in the day and expressed his willingness to give up his portfolio.

"I have given up my portfolio for the stability of the government, our main interest is in the creation of a separate Telangana state, over which we have got assurances from both the Prime Minister and Congress president," he said.

For Rao, this came as a good way out of the negative feedback he had been getting from his supporters in Andhra Pradesh. The separate Telangana state demand has not found a mention in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the United Progressive Alliance.

Rao was being told by his supporters that his accepting a Cabinet berth and securing a minister of state rank for party MP A Narendra, despite the overlooking of the TRS demand, was going to boomerang on them.

"Also the portfolio that Rao got, was not the one he wanted. He wanted either water resources or rural development. What has shipping got to do with parched Telengana?" said a source.

The party had not joined the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh as yet as the party rank and file felt that joining the government was secondary to the separate state demand.

"The thinking in the party is to strike while the iron is hot, now is the time to press our demand and most likely it's going to be fulfilled," said an office bearer.

As of now, in the season of sacrifice, Chandrasekhara Rao seems to have impressed the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi, who were suitably grateful.

According to Rao, both Sonia Gandhi and Singh have assured him that they would try to concede the demand for a separate Telangana state.

"The Prime Minister in fact told me that I was a yogi in the best Indian traditions, while Sonia Gandhi said this would be the beginning of a new friendship between the two of us," he said.

As the United Progressive Alliance inches towards finalising the Common Minimum Programme on May 27, it will be telling whether Rao's sacrifice will reap him rich political dividends or not.