Verdict On Telangana Soon

Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar on Monday lashed out at the reports appearing in a section of media that alleged that the Congress high command had adopted an appeasement policy to quell the demands for a separate Telangana state by offering cabinet berths to MPs from the region.

Talking to reporters after emerging from a meeting convened at MP Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy's residence in Jubilee Hills, Prabhakar stated that the media should not link expansion of the union cabinet with the formation of a Telangana state.

The MP said, "The cabinet expansion is the prerogative of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He decides on who is to be retained and who should be replaced".

"The ministerial posts are not important for us, and the formation of the Telangana state is the first priority for Telangana leaders, " he said.

Prabhakar further added that the Telangana leaders would not succumb to the lure of "ministerial berths" offered by the high command and would continue their agitation for the bifurcation of the state. These words were in sharp contrast to the statement of the secunderabad MP, Anjan Kumar Yadav, who said on Sunday that he would fight for the separate state preferably as a union minister.

The MP stated that the centre would hold meetings with leaders from Telangana to solve the issue on a priority basis.

When asked if the post of the Advocate General being offered to a person from the Telangana region was part of the appeasement policy, Prabhakar replied that this was a long-pending demand dating back to more than a year. He expressed satisfaction that the government had filled the vacancy.

Reacting to the speculative reports that the Congress MPs were getting ready to submit their resignations on the first day of the budget session of the Parliament, Prabhakar said that the need for resignations would not arise since the centre would announce their decision on the Telangana state before the budget session commences.

He hinted that the MPs were not ready to submit their resignations for the sake of Telangana.

The meeting was attended by Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, G Vivek, Manda Jagannadham, Ponnam Prabhakar, Balram Nayak, Gutta Sukhender Reddy, Rajaiah and Suresh Shatkar.

A few MPs did not turn up due to personal problems. However, they sent a message that they would fight unitedly for Telangana state formation.

Courtesy: INN