"Serious Consequences After Aug 1"

Congress MP Ponnam Prabhakar on Wednesday predicted that the state may witness 'serious situations' after August 1, if the Centre fails to announce a decision on the Telangana statehood demand.

Talking to media persons, Ponnam called upon all Telangana leaders to keep aside their party agenda and flags and make united and concrete efforts towards the formation of a state.

He opined that the elected representatives from Telangana who had submitted their resignations must make efforts for the acceptance of their resignations by the Assembly Speaker and mount pressure on the Centre by creating a Constitutional crisis.

Ponnam also demanded that the Centre either accept these resignations or announce the formation of a separate Telangana state.

The MP also urged the those who had submitted their resignations not to participate in any official programs.

"Their participation in the official programs would send a wrong message and dampen the spirit of agitationists," he said.

Recalling the statement of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, that the 9 December 2009 statement of Chidambaram was made in 'haste' in the wake of the deteriorating health of fasting TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao, Ponnam wanted to know what the Union Minister was doing for the past 2 years.

"Does it take 2 years to rectify the statement?" he questioned.

Stating that the Congress would bite the dust in the Telangana region if it fails to announce a separate state, he demanded that the Centre stand by Chidambaram's statement and respect the aspirations of the people of the region. (INN)