Telangana: Congress leaders to meet Pranab

Agencies

New Delhi, 12 January 2011: With an aim to stop former Kadapa MP Jagan Reddy and TRS led by K Chandrashekhar Rao to gain ownership of the Telangana issue, Congress leaders from the region will on Wednesday meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to press for the introduction of a bill for statehood.

According to reports, a decision in this regard was taken yesterday where the Congress leaders from the region decided to hold consultations with the central leadership on the issue.

During the meeting, Congress MPs, MLAs, MLCs and local leaders unanimously passed a resolution seeking the introduction of the Telangana Bill in the budget session.

The Congress leaders from the Telangana region have threatened to resign if their demands for introducing a bill for statehood are not met.

 
A section of Congress leaders from Telangana wanted that the fifth option of Telangana suggested by the Srikrishna Committee be honoured by the central leadership of the party.

The fifth option in the Srikrishna Committee report suggests the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and Seemandhra as per existing boundaries with Hyderabad as the capital of Telangana and Seemandhra to have a new capital.

 
However, after taking into account several factors, the Committee also said that it would not be the most preferred option for the centre.

The development also comes a day after former Congress MP Jaganmohan Reddy staged a fast in the national capital with the support of least 20 party MLAs, two MPs and 2 MLCs to protest the "injustice" meted out to Andhra Pradesh in the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal award.