Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy's efforts to placate the Congress MLAs from Telangana to give up their agitation, as the Centre would make an announcement on the issue in the first week of March, failed to yield any positive result.
In a relief for the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh, party members of legislative assembly from Telangana region on Monday ended their boycott of the ongoing budget session over the raging Telangana issue. The decision came following a meeting they had with Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and state Congress president D Srinivas in the assembly buildings.
Congress lawmakers from Telangana region on Monday protested before party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad against the Andhra Pradesh assembly speaker's move to reject resignations of MLAs over the statehood demand.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a virtual meeting with senior party leaders on Saturday and asked them to be vigilant, party sources said in Hyderabad.
Even as legislators of the Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti hailing from Telangana region decided to go ahead with their resignations in support of a separate state on Friday, the Congress group from the region softened its stand and on Tuesday aborted its visit to New Delhi to pressurise the party high command.
The authorisation will be sent to Kharge and the MLAs decided to go by the decision of the party's top leadership, said Shivakumar, one of the AICC observers appointed to coordinate the CLP meetings.
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.
Telangana Congress group, comprising of 52 Members of Legislative Assembly and 11 Members of Parliament and other elected representatives, appear to be a divided house on the eve of their visit to New Delhi on Tuesday to meet the party high command on the issue of formation of Telangana state.
The Telangana issue assumed centre stage on Thursday night as Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily held consultations with Congress members of Legislative Assembly and members of Parliament. Though a lot of hope was pinned by the Telangana leaders on this meeting there was absolutely no decision taken on issue of statehood, say insiders. However, the mass resignation programme by these elected representatives will be put on hold till the assembly elections in five states.
Telangana Congress leaders have decided to defy party general secretary Veerappa Moily's diktat that they should withdraw from the Telangana Joint Action Committee.
Congress Members of Legislative Assembly from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra on Monday decided to mount pressure on Members of Parliament from the regions to quit their posts and fight against the proposed division of Andhra Pradesh.
In the aftermath of the announcement to form a separate state of Telangana, the Congress party is now facing new problems.
Congress legislators from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseeema would soon undertake a 48-hour hunger strike in Hyderabad in support of united Andhra Pradesh.
Congress leader and chairperson of the Telangana State Women's Cooperative Development Corporation, B Shobha Rani, hit out at Reddy over his comments saying he insulted women with his disrespectful comments.
The Congress top brass late Thursday night assured its agitating legislators of Andhra Pradesh that "no whip" will be issued to vote in favour of a separate statehood resolution, if and when it comes in the Assembly.
"No MLAs will be going anywhere," DK Shivakumar said.
According to some observers, the Congress gained ground by attracting votes from Telugu Desam Party sympathisers after the TDP opted out of the race due to its own reasons.
He said Gujarat wants to move forward but is unable to see the way ahead, and the Congress is unable to show it the way.
The ruling Congress MPs, legislators and state ministers from Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh on Friday said they would resign en masse on July 4 in support of their demand for a separate state. This decision was taken on Friday after a meeting of the leaders from the region attended by seven MPs, 18 MLAs, nine MLCs and nine ministers in Hyderabad.
On the eve of the Haryana assembly poll results, the issue of chief minister-ship has taken centre stage in the Congress with all eyes on its high command's next move as the party expects to regain power after 10 years in the state.
The Congress on Tuesday suffered a major upset in Himachal Pradesh at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha elections which were marred by cross-voting in all the three states though it won three seats in Karnataka while the saffron party pocketed an extra seat in Uttar Pradesh.
Rumblings within Congress over its decision to form Telangana grew on Friday with its seven MPs, a state minister and seven MLAs from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions quitting amid indications that some more are likely to follow suit.
Only 18 Bharatiya Janata Party legislators switched parties to contest the polls in this period
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.
Reddy faced the biggest challenge of his political life in 2015 when he was allegedly caught on camera trying to bribe a nominated MLA to vote in favour of the TDP in a legislative council election.
This will pave the way for emergence of 24,000 new panchayat-level leaders in Telangana, he said.
With the Congress leadership reportedly inching towards a favourable decision on Telangana statehood demand, a party member of Legislative Assembly and several YSR Congress legislators from non-Telangana regions on Thursday said they have "resigned" in support of united Andhra Pradesh.
Amid a political crisis in Jharkhand, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha legislative party leader Champai Soren on Wednesday called on Governor C P Radhakrishnan and urged him to accept his claim to form the government at the earliest.
Counting of votes will be held on Sunday in assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana in what is seen as a semi-final contest ahead of the general elections in less than six months.
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.
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.
The 'black paper', titled '10 saal anyay kaal' also alleged that issues such as rising prices, unemployment, subversion of institutions and farmers' 'distress' had plagued the country.
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly was on Friday adjourned for 15 minutes amid debate over whether or not to continue proceedings in the wake of the en masse resignations of legislators, protesting the Centre's decision to carve out separate Telangana.
With assembly elections due in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram in the next few months, the Congress is working on poll strategies in these states and has convened a meeting of state leaders on May 24.
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.
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.
Sources said while the Congress units of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will hold separate discussions on May 26 on their preparations and actions to be taken, the party will also hold strategy meets on Chhattisgarh on May 27.
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.
After YSR Congress President Jagan Mohan Reddy's landslide victory in Kadapa by-polls the Congress is chalking out plans counter his growing popularity. In a recent meeting, Congress MLAs pointed out that formation of Telangana may be their only option. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
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