Jagan joins TDP protests on Telangana

After giving enough signals that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has put its Telangana plan in cold storage, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) today came out with an appeal for all political parties not to stir the issue any further.

The Congress-led UPA today convened a meeting of its Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) to discuss the Telangana issue.

After the meeting, a release issued by the PMO said: “The CCPA took stock of the situation in Andhra Pradesh and appealed to the people and all political parties of Andhra Pradesh to maintain peace and harmony.”

The statement came hours after a shocked Congress leadership saw its party MP Jagan Mohan Reddy openly joining hands with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to protest the Centre’s move for a separate Telangana.

The statement issued by the government maintained its silence on the issue of creation of Telangana, signaling no hasty movement of the government to create a separate state.

In the Lok Sabha, even as Leader of the House and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee looked visibly angry and entered into an argument with the protesting TDP MPs who had positioned themselves in the well of the House, Jagan Mohan Reddy, the son of late CM YSR Reddy, was seen standing along with the TDP brigade and shouting slogans. Once, he even held a placard brought by the TDP against the formation of Telangana.

Reddy’s public protest comes at a time when a section of the Congress suspects his hand in the rebellion of party legislators in Andhra Pradesh. His father was also against the formation of Telangana.

According to top Congress sources, the CCPA meeting was convened essentially to take the three important allies — K Karunanidhi’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress — into confidence on this issue that has already created a major political crisis in Andhra Pradesh. DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran, NCP’s Sharad Pawar and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee are members of CCPA.

Top Congress sources made it clear that the party had decided not to press the issue any further. “Nothing will happen now,” said a senior minister. The party sources maintain that the government will wait for the resolution to come from the Assembly. “There is no other way to gauge the mood of the state on the issue of carving out a part of the state. We will wait for the Assembly to adopt a resolution,” said a minister.