We never asked to defer by-polls: Srikrishna

We never asked the Election Commission to postpone  the by-polls in Telangana, said Justice Srikrishna, leading the Srikrishna panel which is looking into the issue of demand for separate statehood in Andhra Pradesh. The Election Commission has its own priorities and it will work accordingly,  Justice Srikrishna contended.

Interacting with the media, Srikrishna said on Thursday that the Committee has invited the Congress party to submit its arguments on July 5, 6 and 7. Congress is the only party that is yet to present its views on the contentious matter.

As the Congress party in the state is divided on the statehood issue along regional lines, two to three groups are likely to meet the Committee separately to put forth their views.“We don’t know how many groups from the Congress party will meet us,” observed  Srikrishna.

The Srikrishna Committee had last month heard different groups of the TDP on the Telangana issue. The Congress had postponed its scheduled meetings with the panel on two occasions in the past.

To a query, Srikrishna said the committee would meet TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, if necessary, to elicit his views.

The committee met 100 groups and 1,000 individuals during the last three months. “We are in the process of gathering information and inputs. We are sure that the train is progressing on time and will reach the destination on time,” he noted.

The committee, which heard the views of various sections of the Telugu diaspora through video conference, has almost completed its process of consultations with various political and non-political groups.

The members of the panel will begin their field visits next month to elicit the people’s opinion. It held a meeting with Chief Secretary S.V. Prasad as part of the preparations for regional visits and also to seek region-wise information from various departments.