Pressure groups hold meetings on Telangana issue

Two groups -- one for a separate state of Telangana and the other for a united Andhra Pradesh -- hold meetings in New Delhi and Lucknow to urge the government to rule in its favour. Vicky Nanjappa reports 

The Joint Action Committee for Telangana will meet with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and a group seeking a united Andhra Pradesh will be meeting with both Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav in Lucknow.

The members fighting for a joint Andhra Pradesh have said that they will be meeting Mulayam and Akilesh on Saturday. They will seek support from the father and son to impress upon the Union government against dividing Andhra Pradesh.

When former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati had sought bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh, it was Mulayam Singh and the Samjawadi Party that opposed the move. Those fighting for a united AP feel that Mulayam Singh Yadav would share their sentiment and appeal to the Union government.

The Telangana JAC leaders who stayed away from the all party meeting on the statehood issue held two weeks back, decided to meet with Sushilkumar Shinde and urge him to take a positive decision on Telangana. Shinde had assured that a decision would be taken by January 20.

Those involved in the Telangana movement say it is hard to tell which way the Union government would swing when taking a decision. The mood during the all party meeting was in favour of Telangana, but one can never be sure, they say.

The Congress top brass is eager to grant statehood, but some Andhra Pradesh leaders and general secretaries of the party are not in favour. Congress leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Digvijaya Singh and Janardhan Dwivedi are said to be opposed to the idea.

Also, Congress party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is yet to take a decision on the issue.

If the Congress takes a decision on Telangana keeping the elections in mind, it stands to gain by granting it statehood.

However, it would incur heavy losses in the Andhra and Rayalseema regions if such a decision is made. Many in the Congress say that during the next election it would be tough for it to fight against the YSR Congress party in the Seema Andhra regions and hence it would be a better option to safeguard Telangana at least.