Andhra Pradesh's opposition parties attacked ruling Congress for leaving a decision on Telangana statehood issue to the party's highest decision-making forum Congress Working Committee.
Congress leaders from Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh have become hyperactive ahead of the December 9 deadline they have set for the high command even as Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has been called to New Delhi later this week.
Profesor Kodandaram, chairman of the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee, says that they still do not have faith in the Congress as they feel that the formation of the new state will be delayed.
The Congress appears to be veering round to taking a call on the contentious Telangana statehood issue with party leader in charge of Andhra Pradesh saying consultation process is over and time for a decision has come.
Notwithstanding advice that he might turn into a 'non-entity', the TRS president has conveyed to the Congress leadership that he must be made the chief minister of Telangana if the Congress is looking for a merger between the two parties.
Repeated disruptions in Lok Sabha by Congress members from Andhra Pradesh over Telangana issue and suspension of eight MPs saw Bharatiya Janata Party and Left parties hitting out at the government for this unprecedented situation while the ruling party justified its stand.
Union minister Manish Tewari on Saturday appealed to the leaders in Andhra Pradesh to "observe forbearance" till the Congress high command was going to come out with a decision on the Telangana issue soon. The statement from Tewari came as state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana left for New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the Telangana statehood issue with the party high command.
The commotion at Lok Sabha over the Telangana issue on Tuesday has reflected badly on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
The Congress high command is constantly holding consultations with all concerned to find an amicable solution to the Telangana issue, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah said in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc are set to meet at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi on December 6 to formulate a strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
He held two massive roadshows in Rajasthan and one in Madhya Pradesh and his entries in many of rally venues were marked by a drive through cheering supporters.
The Congress will begin the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from the violence-hit Manipur on Sunday, in what is being seen as the party's bid to set the narrative in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls and put the spotlight on issues such as unemployment, price rise and social justice.
With the assembly poll results in three states being a disappointment for the Congress, some rumblings have begun among the constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) ahead of their meeting on December 6, with many leaders alleging that the grand old party ignored others, but was unable to win elections on its own.
Here's the verdict mapped out for you for each state.
Stepping up pressure, Congress MPs from Telangana on Tuesday sought an "early decision" from the party high command on their demand for a separate state.
Madhu Goud Yaskhi, a Congress MP from the Telangana region, is an avowed advocate of a separate state. The NRI-lawyer-turned-politician who won a second term in 2009 from Nizamabad, spoke to Neerja Chowdhury candidly on where matters stood and what could be the way forward.
Top Congress leaders on Thursday held consultations with party chief Sonia Gandhi on the Telangana issue.
The party was trounced in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is now left with only Himachal Pradesh in the north. It is ruling in only three states on its own and is in power in Bihar and Jharkhand as a junior partner in alliance with regional parties.
The issue of constituting a mechanism for the wide ranging consultations promised by the Centre on Telangana is expected to come up on Friday at a meeting of the Congress core group headed by party president Sonia Gandhi.
Apparently embarrassed by the resignation of two party Members of Legislative Assembly from Telangana to protest the Terms of Reference of the Sri Krishna committee, the Congress high command has summoned the two legislators to Delhi for talks.R Damodar Reddy and Ch Mutyam Reddy left for the national capital on Tuesday to hold talks with Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily, in-charge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, and other leaders.
Keeping the Congress on tenterhooks on their strategy during the crucial Foreign Direct Investment vote on Wednesday, eight party MPs from Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday boycotted a meeting called by party floor leaders in Parliament to seek their assurances on participation in the debate.
Pressure is mounting on the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh to spell out its stand clearly on the contentious Telangana statehood issue ahead of the all-party meeting convened by the Centre on December 28.
The Bharat Nyay Yatra will be mostly covered by bus along with short stretches of walking.
The real decision on Telangana will be made only when the Congress manages to sort out issues regarding its future in the region and also an alliance with the TRS, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
The Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power in Rajasthan on Sunday, winning 115 seats out of the 199 where assembly elections were held last week.
More than 60 Congress Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assembly and Members of Legislative Council from Telangana region on Wednesday met Home Minister P Chidambaram and demanded urgent steps for the creation of a separate state. The law makers, however, expressed "unhappiness" over getting "very little" time to meet the home minister and sat for more than two hours at a conference hall of the home ministry, apparently as a mark of protest.
A crucial meeting of the Congress Core Group on Friday will discuss the Telangana issue with "both options open" as a decision "cannot be postponed anymore", said senior party leader Digvijay Singh.
Senior leaders Damodar Raja Narsimha, Ponnala Lakshmaiah and Kunduru Jana Reddy figure in the list of 111 Congress candidates for assembly elections in Telangana released by the party on Monday night, ending two days of suspense.
The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh has remained unfazed over Thursday's developments in which senior party leaders decided to join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi over the separate statehood issue.
YSR Congress President Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Saturday faced the Telangana heat on the second day of his party's plenary session even as the newly-formed outfit sought to steer clear of the contentious issue by blaming the Congress for the current imbroglio.
In more problems for the Congress on the Telangana issue, a Congress and a Telugu Desam Party member on Thursday gave notices for a no-confidence motion against the Manmohan Singh government over its plan to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
A day after 16 YSR Congress MLAs and one from Congress announced resignations in support of united Andhra Pradesh, two more ruling party legislators from non-Telangana regions today said they would also quit as the central leadership moves towards a decision on statehood.
After taking over as the new Panchayati Raj Minister, Deo disapproved of the actions of Andhra Pradesh MLAs and MPs who have resigned on Telangana issue.
Senior Congress party leaders though continue to be divided on the formation of Telangana state, political expediency finally won the day, reports Anita Katyal
According to sources, senior Congress leader Jaipal Reddy is a heading a major campaign to oust Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, as a section of the party feels that the chief minister is single-handedly thwarting the formation of Telangana.
Kejriwal said that the ordinance must be defeated collectively in Parliament where it is likely to come up for voting as a law in the forthcoming session.
Subhash said the Congress never gave respect to its own leaders and especially to Narasimha Rao who is known for his economic reforms in the country when he was prime minister.
The Congress also asserted that the opposition INDIA bloc had been formed for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections at the national level and was not state specific.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
The ongoing battle in Seema-Andhra is clearly between the Telegu Desam Party and the YSR Congress. Both parties are doing their best to seize the advantage and the misery of the Congress which is now being accused of splitting the state. Vicky Nanjappa reports
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