The dangerous machinations of UPA..

The following article was written for Niti Central. Posting it here for reference.

Sometime in July, the Congress leaked to the Press that they are contemplating the formation of a Rayala-Telangana (RT) State – instead of just Telangana. This proposal would include the two districts of the Rayalaseema region in the new State. Quite unexpectedly, there was a uproar at this proposal and many parties simply denounced it.  The below snapshot is from a report from The Hindu on July 20. The highlighted portion confirms the reports that RT was being contemplated.

And then on the morning of July 21, we read this – Rayala Telangana proposal given quiet burial

And on July 30, we read this – RT was never on Congress agenda!

And on August 3 (four days after CWC resolution endorsing Telangana with 10 districts), we read this – AICC arrives at a secret pact on RT!

Ever since, we have documented in great detail how the Congress was only compounding confusion in the minds of the people of Andhra Pradesh. A Group of Ministers (GoM) (that was blatantly reconstituted by Sonia Gandhi for reasons passing understanding) began to fast-track its work in the last one month or so, has suddenly bought up the issue of RT yet again!

Since the past one week, news reports in all publications are abuzz that the GoM is strongly contemplating the creation of RT, instead of just Telangana. The deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh is in hectic parleys with Jairam Ramesh who is apparently trying to convince the deputy Chief Minister that RT is the ‘only’ way forward. The Congress leadership is citing an application submitted by Union Minister of State – Railways, Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy. This application, which says that in the event of the bifurcation being inevitable, then RT is the preferred choice -  was endorsed by 1700 gram panchayats of the Kurnool region. Obviously, they won’t tell you that any region of the State will agree to this proposal if they get the confidence that Hyderabad will remain theirs!

The machinations of Sonia’s Congress are getting dangerous by the day. Is this how the split of a State, that has an impact on crores of people, should be done? Is this how decisions are changed week over week, with no clarity or purpose? More than four months since CWC resolution was read out – and we are ‘yet’ to receive any kind of clarity. Leave aside the clarity – the confusion that Sonia’s Congress is creating in the minds of people is plain sickening. It’s really sad and depressing to be treated as pawns in Sonia Gandhi’s game of votes. Reports are also indicating that the proposal from RT is the work of a genius because:

1. State will be evenly split – 147 Assembly seats each, 21 Lok Sabha seats each.

2. Will control TRS, YSRCP, TDP to a great extent because their impact will lessen over a broadened State.

3. The Bill will smoothly go through the Assembly.

Not even one leak that gives technical reasons for this proposal – all leaks say the above three points only. What a pity that you want to divide people so that you can rule! Major parties are opposed to this RT proposal – so it beats us as to how this will have a smooth passage in the Assembly. What kind of a precedent is Sonia Gandhi trying to set? One where you can divide States as you fancy? Is this why the people of AP sent over 30 MPs ?

We were told last week that there will be special Cabinet meeting on December 3 to discuss the GoM report. We have waited for more than 120 days for clarity. All indications from these leaks point out that clarity will be the one thing that will be missing out in the report! The people of Andhra Pradesh simply hope (against hope) that the GoM will surprise all of us, and will give amazing clarity on the bifurcation. We simply wait for one more day.