Intense lobbying by Seemandhra, Telangana leaders in Delhi

With the central government determined to table Telangana bill in parliament, top leaders from Andhra Pradesh have made a beeline to the national capital for lobbying for and against separate Telangana state.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy Tuesday left for Delhi to mobilize support for his demand that the bill defeated in both the houses of state legislature should not be tabled in parliament.

He joined several leaders already camping in the national capital in the wake of the centre's move to table Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2013, aimed at creation of Telangana state, in parliament.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao besides several top leaders of Congress and TDP from both Telangana and Seemandhra regions were already engaged in hectic lobbying.

Naidu met President Pranab Mukherjee Monday night to seek his intervention for finding an amicable solution to the Telangana problem. He complained that the central government was acting in a unilateral manner against the federal spirit.

The former chief minister also met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Monday.

On the other hand, TRS chief met leaders of BJP and other parties to garner support for the Telangana bill.

The chief minister along with other Congress leaders from Seemandhra plan a day-long fast at Indira Gandhi's 'samadhi' to oppose state's bifurcation. They will also discuss the possibility of moving the Supreme Court to stall the division.

S. Sailajanath, a state minister from Seemandhra, said the chief minister would meet the President Wednesday to request him not to forward the bill to parliament as both houses of the state legislature passed resolutions rejecting the bill.

Ministers and other Congress leaders from Telangana were also camping in Delhi to meet the central leaders to press for their demand that the bill be tabled immediately in parliament.

TDP leaders from Telangana also reached Delhi Tuesday to meet President, prime minister and leaders of various parties to seek immediate tabling and passage of the bill. Their counterparts from Seemandhra were already camping in the national capital for lobbying against the bill.

Both the groups were busy holding separate meetings to chalk out their plan of action.