Storm over T cup: Andhra CM’s political future cloudy

The entire Telangana issue is back on the boil after eleven Congress ministers in Andhra Pradesh and 28 TDP MLAs from the region resigned en masse from the state Assembly. The way things panned out on Monday came as a grim reminder for the Congress that it may have to negotiate a tricky terrain in days to come while tackling the sensitive matter. [caption id=“attachment_36057” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“In a damage-control exercise, the Centre is reaching out to MLAs from Telangana and invited them to New Delhi for another round of talks. Krishnendu Halder/Reuters”]  [/caption] The political temperature soared in New Delhi when seven Congress MPs, who had planned to quit from the Lok Sabha, opted out of their scheduled meeting with Speaker Meira Kumar. The ministers who have submitted resignations from the membership of the state Assembly are insistent that a Telangana state be created without any further delay. A Congress MP from Warangal in Telangana Rajaiah Siricilla put the blame on traffic jams for reaching late. “The delay was accidental and not intentional. We are not against any talks but we are committed to our resignation. We got delayed due to traffic congestion. We have got the next appointment from the Speaker at 5:30 PM. We will stay here till 5:30 pm,” said Siricilla. No doubt, there is more trouble brewing on the statehood front as more MLAs from the Telangana region are likely to follow suit in an attempt to step up pressure on the central government. The fast-paced developments are an indication that the controversy is not going to go away anytime soon and may have huge political implications both for the Centre as well as the state. In a damage-control exercise, the Centre is reaching out to MLAs from Telangana and invited them to New Delhi for another round of talks. All India Congress Committee General Secretary and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the Telangana issue was a sensitive one. “I am in touch with the Telangana MPs and MLAs. We are expecting some of them to reach here (new Delhi) by afternoon. I requested them to one or two rounds of talks. We are hoping for the best. This is a very sensitive issue,” said Azad. There are fears that this issue may escalate into a political and constitutional crisis and may spell trouble for Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. A rebel Congress MLA, Konda Surekha, also resigned from her post demanding creation of Telangana state. In the 294-member Andhra Assembly, the Congress requires 148 MLAs for a clear majority. Although the Congress has 17 MLAs from Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party, the mass resignation can spark off an alarming situation.