New Delhi/Hyderabad: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will take a decision on the issue of separate Telangana state, said party general secretary Digvijaya Singh said yesterday.
The core committee, which met yesterday at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s residence, discussed the issue but left the final decision to CWC.
“The Congress party has held widest consultations with all political parties, with all leaders, and finally the core group has now met the chief minister, the deputy chief minister and the PCC president to take a final view. Therefore, Congress shall take a decision in the working committee,” Digvijaya Singh told reporters.
The meeting was attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi and other leaders.
Earlier, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana made their presentations separately before the core group.
The three leaders are believed to have briefed the core committee on the political advantage the party may get or the problems it may face if a decision is taken either way.
The chief minister, who hails from Rayalaseema region, reportedly explained to the core committee the possible consequences of division of the state. He said if a decision was taken in favour of a Telangana state, it could create a situation similar to December 2009, when MPs and state legislators in the Rayalseema and Andhra regions had resigned.
His deputy, Damodar Rajanarasimha, a strong supporter of the Telangana demand, told the core committee about the political gains the party may make in the region by carving out a separate state.
He said it would only be a de-merger as Telangana was a separate state before it was merged with then Andhra state in 1956 to form Andhra Pradesh. He conveyed to the panel the strong public sentiments in Telangana for a separate state.
It was not clear what state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana told the committee. He had once remarked that there was no harm if Telugu-speaking people had two states, but last week said he prayed to God to keep the state united.
IANS
