HYDERABAD: The four-member AK Antony committee appointed by Congress high command to take note of the concerns raised by party leaders from both Seemandhra and Telangana has conveyed to state Congress leadership that the bifurcation process initiated by the UPA government is irreversible.
The committee reportedly conveyed this message to leaders of Rayalaseema and Andhra regions through PCC president Botsa Satayanarayana, ahead of the scheduled meeting with them, in spite of resentment in Seemandhra.
“The process initiated by the Union home ministry is a constitutional one. The Antony committee is Congress party’s internal arrangement,” is what Botsa conveyed on Friday to some T-Congress leaders including deputy chief minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha, ministers K Jana Reddy, Uttam Kumar Reddy, and Sridhar Babu, MP Ponnam Prabhakar and MLC Md Ali Shabbir.
The committee made it clear that it will hear only the grievances or fears or doubts about the status of Hyderabad, water sharing, security of Seemandhra people in Hyderabad. In a way, this is nothing but making it clear that the CWC decision is non-negotiable, party sources said. Botsa is believed to have told party leaders that they can negotiate on anything within the purview of the CWC resolution, which means they cannot bargain about Hyderabad and Telangana. “The purpose of the committee is to achieve consensus in the party on contentious issues. This will help smooth completion of the Telangana process,” the sources said.
After having the first round of consultations with central ministers and some MPs on August 13 and 14, the committee now plans to meet the state leaders, ministers, MLAs and MLCs, on August 19 and 20.
The committee is said to be under the impression that a section of media is hyping up what was happening in the districts. “While a section of the media exaggerated the T stir, another section is doing the same with regard to Seemandhra agitation now,” the sources indicated.
The Antony committee and Centre’s T initiative are not at all interconnected, the sources said.
What the UPA government initiated was the constitutional process to bifurcate the state and it would not be stalled just because Antony committee was hearing the concerns of leaders from Seeamandhra and Telangana, the sources added.” Antony committee will record the demands of party leaders from state. If necessary, it will recommend to incorporate the suggestions in the constitutional process,” the sources said.
Meanwhile, Botsa, who is facilitating consultations between the state Congress leaders, informed the dates of next round of consultations to Telangana Congress ministers and added that the same would be conveyed to Seemandhra leaders on Saturday. Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy told media that T-Congress leaders would meet the Antony committee on August 19 to press for early implementation of the CWC resolution on Telangana state.
Courtesy: Times of India