Giving a major shock to the Congress High Command, as many as eight party MPs from Telangana region have boycotted a meeting called by Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Tuesday to seek their assurance on participation in the debate on FDI in retail sector.
The meeting was called by Shinde, who is also the leader of Lok Sabha. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath also took part in the meeting to ensure that all Congress MPs vote in favour of the government. However, defying the orders, the Telangana MPs not only boycotted the meeting, but also stated that they would decide whether or not to participate in the voting only on Wednesday.
Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar and Nizamabad MP Madhu Yaskhi said that they had boycotted the meeting in protest against the Centre's delay in announcing the formation of Telangana state. By stating that they would decide on Wednesday whether or not to vote in favour of the government, the MPs gave clear indications that they might go to the extent of defying the party's whip which asked all its members to be present in Parliament and vote in favour of the government.
However, Union Ministers S Jaipal Reddy, Sarvey Satyanarayana and Balram Naik attended the Tuesday's meeting. MPs V Hanumatha Rao, Suresh Shetkar, Anjan Kumar Yadav and MA Khan were also present. (INN)