Legislators remain adamant as PCC urges rethink

Despite hectic attempts by the High Command, which utilised all its available resources in the state, Congress Legislators from Telangana on Saturday continued to remain adamant that they would indeed submit their resignations from their elected posts on July 4.

The party Legislators, who had made known their decision to resign after a meeting held at the Exhibition Society office on Friday, refused to buckle under the pressure mounted on them by AICC president Sonia Gandhi’s Political Advisor Ahmed Patel, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana to reconsider their decision.

Mr Ahmed Patel is believed to have telephoned some party MPs from Telangana, urging them not to take hasty decisions, according to highly placed sources. Mr Ahmed Patel told the MPs, including senior leader K Kesava Rao and Gutta Sukhender Reddy, that the issue of separate statehood is very sensitive and cannot be resolved so soon.

However, the MPs are said to have told him that they have made repeated requests and representations to the High Command to take an early decision.

Sources say that the MPs told Mr Ahmed Patel that they are under intense pressure from the separate statehood protagonists and hence cannot reconsider.

Meanwhile, hectic activity was witnessed in the Gandhi Bhavan, as a stream of visitors, including Ministers and MPs called on PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana and held discussions.

Though the Ministers were not willing to talk to media persons waiting outside the PCC chief’s chamber, a brief exchange was possible with the MPs.

Rajya SAbha Member K Kesava Rao said that the Congress Legislators will not rethink on their decision to resign. “There is no power which can stop us from resigning. We will not go back on the decision to resign. No amount of persuasion can convince us to go back on our decision,” the senior leader said.

MP Gutta Sukhender Reddy was however more communicative.

He said that, “We were invited by the PCC chief to come and talk. We told Mr Satyanarayana that there is immense pressure on us from the people of our constituencies. We have to live up to the expectations of the people.”

Mr Sukhender Reddy added that the Legislators from Telangana would be willing to reconsider the decision of tendering their resignations would be if the Centre makes an announcement in the next two days that it would implement the assurance on Telangana made by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on December 9, 2009.

Later, in an informal conversation with the media, Mr Botsa Satyanarayana said that if the Legislators observe restraint and wait for some time, he was confident that the High Command will take a decision which would be acceptable to all the eight crore population of Andhra.

It may be emphasised here that Mr Satyanarayana did not say the people of Andhra Pradesh.