Home minister says the January 5 meeting of political parties is to devise a roadmap on resolving the statehood issue.
Home Minister P Chidambaram today dismissed the charge that the Centre flip-flopped on the Telangana statehood issue, saying the January 5 meeting of political parties from Andhra Pradesh was to devise a roadmap on resolving the problem.
All that the Union government had responded to was a changed political situation, he said at a press conference here today.
“The January 5 meeting is the first step in the consultations. In the first step we have called the recognised parties in the state to devise a mechanism and a roadmap (on the issue),” he said. “There was no no flip-flop on the part of the Central government, which simply responded to the wishes of the people of Andhra Pradesh. I hope you don’t call the January 5 meeting a flip-flop,” he said.
Recalling the history of the issue, Chidambaram said the National Common Minimum Programme of the United progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2004 had said the government would consider the demand for the formation of a Telangana state at an appropriate time after due consultations and consensus.
Major political parties in Andhra Pradesh contested the 2009 Assembly elections on manifestos that, in one manner or other, declared support for the formation of a separate state of Telangana.
He referred to the all-party meeting convened by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah on December 7 in which all floor leaders of the political parties had agreed to support the proposal to adopt a resolution in the state Assembly for the creation of Telangana.
The CPI(M) had a different view and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) said the appropriate forum for expressing its views would be the Assembly.
The Centre received the minutes of the meeting on December 8 and the next day decided to initiate the process of forming the state of Telangana.
“On December 9, it was announced that an appropriate resolution would be moved in the state Assembly. I would like to highlight key words in the statement: they are ‘process’, ‘appropriate resolution’ and ‘moved’.
“In the background of the minutes of the all-party meeting, I would like to ask, ‘what was wrong with that statement’,” he asked.
However, Chidambaram said that following the announcement, major political parties in Andhra Pradesh witnessed deep divisions among their members, especially MPs and MLAs. It was obvious that the situation has altered.
“The government tried its best to bridge the differences. Unfortunately, there was no agreement and it was felt that there was a need to hold further consultations with all political parties and groups in Andhra Pradesh. Hence, another statement was made on behalf of the Central government on December 23, emphasising the need for wide-ranging consultation and promising to take steps to involve all concerned in the process,” he said.
To a question on the time frame for resolving the Telangana issue, Chidambaram said the Centre had only called the first meeting.
“If I have already made up my mind, what is the purpose of a meeting? The meeting is to help us devise a mechanism and road map,” he said.
Asked about the Congress’ views on smaller states, he said the party has a view on Telangana but there is no standard view on smaller states.
The home minister also said visa rules regarding the 60-day ‘cooling-off’ period for tourists have been relaxed “slightly”. A foreigner who uses India as a base to go to neighbouring countries can avail of three re-entries within 60 days if he has the sufficient itinerary.
He insisted that an overwhelming majority of tourists visiting India would not be affected by the new visa policy of the government.
