Hyderabad:
It may be the holiday season, but for Kiran Kumar Reddy, work is more hectic than ever. As Speaker of the Andhra Assembly, he's either receiving or returning resignations from MLAs over the Telangana issue.
On Thursday, it was MLAs from Telangana regions who quit. 30 from the Congress, all 10 from K Chandrasekhar Rao's TRS, two from the BJP, and 39 from Chandrababu Naidu's TDP.
The resignations are, literally, on paper. Reddy has refused to accept them. He says these are emotional rather than rational decisions.
At the heart of the issue is politicians needing to impress their voters with their stand on a new state for Telangana. Earlier this month, more than a 100 MLAs quit because the Centre sanctioned a new Telangana state. These leaders, elected from Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, claim they don't want Andhra to be split. As the state plunged into a political crisis, the Centre announced on Wednesday that its decision was on hold. Nothing would be done, Home Minister P Chidambaram said, without political consensus and "lengthy" talks.
So now, it's Telangana MLAs who've quit in a huff. Simultaneously, MLAs from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema withdrew their resignations, because they feel they're winning their movement for a "United Andhra."
The Speaker says the en masse resignation drama does not threaten the state government. ``It is an emotional issue. That is why I have not acted on the earlier resignations also. These resignations also I will be reacting only after some time, after emotions are down,'' says Reddy.
The divide over Telangana is in some ways most embarrassing for the Congress since its own members are split down the middle. In Delhi, 12 MPs resigned to protest against the government's revised go-slow approach. However, the fact that they handed their resignations to party president Sonia Gandhi and not to the Speaker of the House, suggests that it was more of a symbolic gesture.
In Andhra, Chief Minister K Rosaiah reportedly suggested a reshuffle in is Cabinet to accommodate more Telangana representatives, and therefore appease the rebels in his party. No interest, apparently, from the target audience. "Nobody is interested to become minister because Telangana is a heartburning issue for the people,'' declared G Venkatramana Reddy, the Congress MLA from Karimnagar.
When the Centre announced a new state earlier this month, it based its decision on an all-party meeting held in Andhra. There, all major political parties agreed to support a resolution for the bifurcation of Andhra. They changed their minds hours after the Centre went public with its decision. Left in the lurch: the ruling Congress party in Andhra, and its leaders in Delhi.
The TRS has called off its 48-hour bandh for Christmas, but has warned the Centre that its latest plan to set up a states reorganisation committee is not acceptable. The Centre is planning to set up such a committee to pacify regions demanding separate states in the country.
Smarting from the Centre's statement putting a separate Telangana state on hold, and in words that showed no climb-down, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao said a states reorganization committee would be "an insult to the people of Telangana."
The TRS called off its bandh soon after protesting students were lathicharged at Osmania University. KCR said: "I appeal to the prime minister not to drag the issue...a lot of blood has been sacrificed...you see how we are all united breaking party barriers...don't beat our students , don't fire at them."