The Congress is back in the dilly-dallying mode on Telangana. For a party caught in the decision-making paralysis, the separate statehood demand in Andhra Pradesh has emerged as a tough challenge. The party is aware that any decision on Telangana would recoil on it sharply in the politically crucial state and spur similar demands elsewhere in the country. But holding back a decision and waiting for the crisis to blow over is not likely to help its cause. [caption id=“attachment_37477” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Telangana JAC convener Kodanada Ram Reddy is arrested in Hyderabad on Wednesday. PTI”]  [/caption] That the Union government is undecided over its course of action was evident when Home Minister P Chidambaram repeated his yesterday’s statement today, saying the government was waiting for the consultation process over the issue to be completed before reaching at a point of view. “The Central government’s view will be made known after the consultation process is over. We have to bring everyone on board. There is a strong view of a large number of people. We are yet to take a final decision,” Chidambaram said. With opinions sharply polarised in Andhra Pradesh over the statehood issue, bringing everyone on board looks to be an impossible task. Right now there seems to be an agreement on the bifurcation of the state. But the status of Hyderabad remains a sore point. The Srikrishna Commission, which went into the statehood issue, had made several suggestions on the state of Hyderabad. It had suggested that 1) Hyderabad should go to Telangana and the other half of the state — Seemandhra — should have a new capital; 2) Union Territory status for the place with it serving as the capital for both the states till they built their own capitals and 3) an enlarged Hyderabad metropolis independent of both the states. Pro-Telangana agitators insist that Hyderabad is an integral part of Telangana and it could not be sacrificed at any cost. The other group is reluctant to let go of the current state capital given its financial and political significance. Any solution to the 40-year-old statehood problem would hinge on the status of Hyderabad. The Congress, meanwhile, does not seem to be too happy with the pressure tactic of the party’s MLAs and MPs from the Telangana region. Today, it is believed to have told the leaders that it won’t take any decision in a hurry. Negotiations are the only way out and they have to be patient, it is supposed to have told the leaders. Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee, according to media reports, has ticked off the Telangana leaders for resigning from their posts and seeking to create a crisis at a time when the Congress leadership was dealing with much more complex issues. Frustrated at the cold approach from the party’s top leadership, the Telangana leaders have planned to return to Hyderabad to work out a fresh action plan. The Andhra Pradesh Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana sought to play a placatory role, saying a solution to the problem would be found soon. “They (legislators from Telangana) have quit their posts due to the circumstances. There is nothing more to it. A solution will be found to the problem,” he told reporters. But it’s clear that things have reached a point of no return over Telangana. The sooner the government takes a stand, the better it is for Andhra Pradesh. Dilly-dallying won’t help anymore. [fpgallery id=63]
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