Bifurcation Gets Murkier

• State Congress continues to be vertically divided
  
• TDP, YSRCP, CPM decide not to submit report to GoM
  
• T Congress leaders leave the job of preparing report to Dy CM
  
• Report likely to be submitted to PCC chief today
  
• They criticise Kiran for behaving like CM of one region
  
• Seemandhra Cong leaders pass a one-line resolution againstbifurcation and hand over to CM
  
• CPI, MIM to submit report and attend all-party meeting

Political situation in the state is getting murkier. On one hand, the Centre is speeding up the process of bifurcation and has decided to meet representatives of all political parties from the state on November 12 and 13. On the other, the state Congress continues to be vertically divided. The major opposition parties like the TDP and the YSRCP on Monday decided not to recognise the GoM. PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy chaired separate meetings with party leaders from Telangana and Seemandhra region. While the T leaders who met in the morning entrusted the job of preparing the report to be submitted to the GoM to Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and N Uttam Kumar Reddy, the Seemandhra leaders after a meeting with Kiran Reddy in the evening passed a one-line resolution saying that the state should not be bifurcated at any cost.

The Monday meeting of T leaders took strong objection to the manner in which Kiran was ignoring the T leaders. According to sources Rajya Sabha MP Palvai Govardhan Reddy took serious objection to the Chief Minister not chairing the meeting. He is understood to have said that since Kiran was behaving like the Chief Minister of one region, he should be boycotted by the T ministers and leaders. He also felt that the high command should take disciplinary action against the Chief Minister.

The T ministers and leaders later held another meeting with the Deputy Chief Minister and discussed the issues on which they should send recommendations to the GoM. According to Minister for Panchayat Raj K Jana Reddy, T Congress would submit a report on issues like article 371-D, sharing of water, power and other resources and the packages the new state would require for speedy development.

They would also urge the GoM to clear the apprehension of the people of Seemandhra region at the earliest. The report would be submitted to the PCC president on Tuesday afternoon, he said. The Seemandhra leaders are of the opinion that if they submit any report to GoM it will amount to endorsing the decision to divide the state. Sources said the Chief Minister had remarked that the route to moon was being laid in the sky but on the earth efforts were on to divide the state. “We need to ponder as to what extent it was right,” Kiran is learnt to have remarked.

In the meantime, some ministers like Ganta Srinivasa Rao, T G Venkatesh, Erasu Pratap Reddy held another meeting in the afternoon and decided to send a report explaining the intensity of the agitation against bifurcation in Seemandhra region. They propose to enclose audio and video clips of the agitation to their report. Amidst this scenario, CPI state secretary K Narayana said that his party would submit a report to GoM and would attend the all-party meeting. The CPM state secretary said that they were opposed to sending any report to the GoM but would participate in the allparty meeting and express their views against bifurcation of the state. The MIM also decided to attend the all-party meeting convened by the Union Home Ministry.

The party president Assaduddin Owaisi will represent the party. The party will demand development and protection of minorities in both the states. It wants that special laws should be enacted to counter communal forces in both the states. It further proposes to urge the centre to make Urdu as first language in T state and second language in the residuary state.