Kiran turns a pretender?

Falls in line with high command, but at the same time makes noises against bifurcation

New Delhi: The Congress High Command is in no mood to disturb Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, as he is fully cooperating with the Centre.

Sources in the government are of the view that though the Chief Minister is making all sorts of noises against the formation of the separate state of Telangana, he has been generously helping out the GoM in culling out all the necessary documents and information required for hastening the process.

Soon after the CWC resolution on July 30 on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, when the Chief Minister threw his tantrums on the issue, he was told by none other than AICC general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Digvijay Singh, besides other CWC members, that he can leave the party, if he so wanted. The decision of the CWC was final and he cannot reverse it.

After the snub, Kiran Kumar Reddy has fallen in line and is directing his officials to cooperate with the GoM. The Centre understands the political compulsions of the Chief Minister, as he has nothing to gain if Telangana becomes a reality in the near future.

Not only his political career is at stake, but the Congress is also expected to lose considerably in the Seemandhra region in the 2014 polls, both in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections. The speculation that Kiran Reddy may form a regional outfit is ruled out by the Centre, as there are already too many political players in the Seemandhra region, like YSRCP and TDP, which are in a commanding position to sweep the elections.

Instead of calling the bluff of the Chief Minister, the high command is patiently hearing him out, as it understands that the “tough posturing” is only for “public consumption.”

The Congress leadership has turned a blind eye towards the adverse publicity generated by the clash between Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha after every important meeting concerning the bifurcation of the state It was not only at the Congress Core Group meeting, ahead of the CWC meeting in July, but even on Friday, when news spread that the two leaders exchanged wordy duels in the Andhra Pradesh Congress Coordination Committee meeting, the high command remained mum.

Interestingly, news of the clash and the stand taken by the Chief Minister has been leaked by his own camp, as he wants to send the message across to the people in Seemandhra that he is fighting their battle single-handedly. Even in the press conference held on Saturday, the Chief Minister made it a point to publicly state that he differed with Digvijay Singh’s claim that he has fallen in line.

The Chief Minister said, “That might be his own opinion. As far as I am concerned, I have neither changed my stand nor my view that development is possible only in united Andhra Pradesh.”

It is no longer intriguing that the Chief Minister, despite striking a discordant note, manages to meet all the top Congress leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, besides President Pranab Mukherjee.

They all understand his political compulsions and have no objection even if he does not dance to their tune, publicly.