'Need for wide-ranging discussions on Telangana'

The issue of Telangana statehood is back to square one!

After a hurried announcement of “initiating the process” for Telangana state, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government today returned to the “need to hold wide-ranging consultations” on creating the state as the issue threatened to vertically split the state unit of the Congress.

The 133-word statement issued by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is a result of a hectic parley at the top level of the Congress for the last one week, as it tried to balance its pro- and anti-Telangana lobbies.

In his statement, Chidambaram today said: “After the (home ministry’s) statement, the situation in Andhra Pradesh has altered. A large number of political parties are divided on the issue. There is a need to hold wide-ranging consultations with all political parties and groups in the state. The central government will take steps to involve all concerned in the process.”

For the past five years, the Congress had continuously played the card of “evolving a consensus” among various political parties to arrive at a decision to create Telangana state. Today’s statement reflects the same mood and tried to give more breathing space to the ruling party without back out from its commitment to Telangana — at least in black and white.

After its core group meeting and several rounds of informal meeting between the top leaders, Chidambaram, Defence Minister A K Antony, Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel today held another meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, where sparks flew between the leaders on the issue of Telangana.

According to sources, a large section of the Congress argued that former chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had vehemently opposed the creation of Telangana during the 2009 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, yet managed to bring back the party in power at the state and win 33 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats.