Photo: Anti-Telangana delegation meets Congress senior leader Digvijay Singh
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Seemandhra leaders, who rushed to Delhi to stall the formation of Telangana, were given a rude shock by Congress bigwigs. State party in-charge Vayalar Ravi, who is a key person in Telangana decisionmaking, talked to Seemandhra leaders for just one minute. He told them bluntly that he was rushing to Kerala on an urgent visit and did not have time to talk to them. He asked them to come back tomorrow evening.
The meeting with another senior leader Digvijay Singh threw up more shocking news for the Seemandhra leaders. Digvijay told the visiting delegation that the Congress party has already taken the decision on this issue and conveyed it to Home Minister Shinde.
Digvijay also shocked a couple of AP NGO leaders, who accompanied the delegation. He asked them what is the percent of Telangana employees in state Secretariat. This unexpected question made the AP NGO leaders squirm uncomfortably.
Later in the day, the anti-Telangana delegation met Home Minister Shinde. Even Shinde gave them enough indications about what the Congress High Command was thinking. He asked them “didn’t we promise Telangana in our election manifesto”. Seemandhra leaders tried to hide behind the tricky language they used in the Congress election manifesto.
On the whole, the Seemandhra leaders got clear indications that the the Congress high-command has made up its mind to grant Telangana statehood. By evening, their body language was clear. Their shoulders were drooping and their voice turned low.
A Seemandhra leader’s comment sums up the whole scenario for us. Chit-chatting with media at AP Bhavan, this leader remarked “we missed the bus”.