T-Cong MPs write letter to PM, Sonia

The Congress MPs from the Telangana region on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi stating that the people of region were not ready to accept any alternative except for the formation of separate Telangana state.

In the letter, the MPs stated that the regional councils and special packages would not serve any purpose and only through formation of Telangana state the development of the region was possible. The MPs also opposed the proposal of making Hyderabad as a Union Territory.

"We want Telangana as it existed before November 1, 1956," Telangana Congress Steering Committee chairman and Rajya Sabha MP K Keshav Rao told reporters.

The MPs appealed to Dr Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi to honour the promise made by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on December 9, 2009 stating that the Centre would begin the process of formation of Telangana.

The MPs letter to Sonia Gandhi and Dr Singh assumes importance in the wake of reports that the Congress high command was mooting the idea of forming regional councils to address the Telangana issue. One report also suggested that former PCC chief D Srinivas would be appointed as the chairman for the Telangana regional council.