VHR raises T-state at Congress Shivir

The Telangana state issue was raised by AICC secretary and senior Congress MP, Mr V. Hanumantha Rao, in one of the sessions chaired by the Union defence minister, Mr A.K. Antony, at the three-day Chitan Shivir, in Jaipur, on Friday.

Mr Antony is heading a discussion group on the subject, “Emerging political challenges”, in which some 45 delegates participated in a discussion on various subjects.

Though the Union minister, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, who hails from Telangana region and another minister of state, Mr Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy, who hails from Rayalaseema, were present, they did not speak on the subject.

Some youth Congress delegates, from Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, who participated in the group discussions, said the creation of smaller states is more convenient for administrative purposes. At this stage Mr Hanumantha Rao raised the Telangana issue. He said that the revival of Telangana state should not be linked to the concept of smaller states.

He said if Telangana state is revived, the Congress can bag 16 out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in the region.

He also said Telangana is not a new creation. “It is only revival as it was in existence prior to the formation of Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

He asked the defence minister to decide on the bifurcation issue at the earliest and said that the Centre should not delay the decision any further.

While the discussion on the subject will resume on Saturday, it is to be seen whether the remaining delegates will speak on the subject then.

Meanwhile, Mr Rao complained to Mr Antony about several Congress leaders in the state restraining from confronting Kadapa MP, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, and his party’s activities.