Is a solution to T-issue like chasing a mirage?

As a matter of fact there were clear indications soon after the meeting of the Congress Core Committee that the Central Government might take some more time in taking a firm decision to resolve the contentious bifurcation issue. The move to hold more consultations with the political parties not only at the state level but also at the national level is also clear pointer about an imminent delay in resolving the problem.

Soon after Mr. Azad submitted his 45-page report to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the Congress Core Committee met the residence of the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and deliberated for one hour forty five minutes without taking any decision. The party stalwarts and senior ministers like Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Mr. P. Chidambaram and Mr. A. K. Antony, Political Advisor Mr. Ahmed Patel besides Mr. Azad and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi were present at the meeting.

The meeting seemed to have heard the detailed briefing of Mr. Azad on his findings after a series of consultations he had with party leaders including ministers, MPs, and MLAs from all the three regions of the state. The meeting seemed to have felt that the consultation process should continue with other political parties not only in the state but also at the national level and only after that a plan of action to resolve the issue could be formulated. In fact a three-member ministerial committee is also expected to be formed to hold parleys.

It is pertinent to note here that unlike the earlier Justice Sri Krishna Committee report which has made six recommendations as a solution to resolve the crisis, the Azad report had no such clear cut suggestions. It is merely a compilation of the ground realities of a political assessment on the prevailing situation in the state. The scope and chances of the Congress party vis-à-vis the other parties in future was stated have been prominently analyzed in the report.

The Justice Sri Krishna Committee findings were more of an indepth intellectual appraisal of the Telangana issue and thus despite it suggesting six options to wriggle out from the prevailing crisis in the state, it did not find any takers among the people as people of each region favored their own from among the options. Thus the onus of making a political appraisal to find a solution fell on the shoulders of Mr. Azad.

The Union Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram, who had been dealing with the Telangana affair and held consultations with all the main political parties in the state, indicated that the four more parties including the Congress and the TDP have yet to come out with their respective stance on the issue. While these two parties have to spell out their stance, the MIM and the YSR Congress have also been adopting a wait and watch policy on the issue.

Here one cannot ignore the fact that the Congress leaders from the Telangana region were for bifurcation of the state while the party leaders from the Seemandhra regions are vociferous about maintaining status quo. The same attitude prevails in the Telugu Desam. Thus the Congress and TDP leadership are caught in a dilemma with no unanimity among the party leaders on the issue.

The exercising of eliciting opinions from all sections including the political leaders has been going on for the past nearly two years and one wonders as to the veracity in continuing the same exercise again when divergent opinions continue to prevail in this aspect. Thus the scope of arriving at a solution to resolve the crisis in the near future seems to be very remote and bleak. Is continuing the consultations is yet another ploy to drag on dilute the issue, is the big question that is being speculated among all sections of the people.

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