Telangana Congress leaders issue ultimatum to Sonia

HYDERABAD: Telangana Congress leaders on Saturday issued an ultimatum to the party high command and demanded to come clear on Telangana in public before the all-party meeting convened on December 28, failing on which would prompt them to quit the party, they warned.
While the ministers from the region wrote a letter addressing to the party president Sonia Gandhi urging her to make a positive statement on creation of a separate state before the all-party meeting, MPs and MLAs resolved to take a similar stand in the meeting held at the residence of K Keshava Rao, senior Congress leader championing Telangana cause in the party.
The ministers and the T- Congress leaders also urged the party high command to spell out a single opinion in the all-party meeting, and demanded to send a single representative to the meeting.
While inviting to the all-party meeting, Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had asked the political parties to send two representatives.
"The invite is ambiguous and it is drafted as if the Centre is reluctant to talk about the division of the state. And calling two representatives from each party is like suggesting they are encouraging the divided opinion on the issue. To avert any confusion, we demand the party high command to state clearly about Telangana in public, and allow single representative in the meeting," said a T- minister.
While over ten ministers have given their assent to the content of the letter, Jana Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmiah, Sridhar Babu, Sunitha Lakshma Reddy, Basavaraju Sariah, Sudarshana Reddy, Geetha Reddy met the PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana and handed over the letter to him. While the ministers including Sabitha Indira Reddy, D K Aruna were conspicuous by their absence in the delegations, two ministers from Hyderabad- Danam Nagender and Mukesh Goud- chose not to be the party to the letter.
"While we acknowledge that Telangana is an important issue for the people, but, as discipline members of the party I and Mukesh Goud didn't want to embarrass the party high command especially when a brain storming session is organized, on Sunday, to discuss about the strategies to be laid down in aiming at strengthening the party among the common people. We would not be identifying with such activities," said Danam.
Admitting that the T-Congress leaders were anguished at the way the party leadership dealing with Telangana issue, Botsa Satyanarayana said the high command would take appropriate steps to assuage them. However, he declined to admit that the T-Congress leaders had given the ultimatum to the high command. "I don't know what they said to the public or the media. But, all that I can say that the Telangana ministers gave me the letter and asked me to convey their feelings to the high command. And their main demand was to send a single representative to the all-party meeting."