Telangana protests will settle down, feel Congress

IANS/New DelhiThe Congress yesterday said “the issue would settle down” after eight party MPs and two ministers from the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions resigned against the decision to create a Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh.“The Congress believes in democracy. The general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh is talking to them. The issue will settle down,” Congress spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das told reporters.The leaders were protesting against the Congress decision to carve out a separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh.Congress sources said such protests were expected and natural and expressed hope that better sense would prevail among all in the coming days.Meanhile Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh convinced the Union ministers from Rayalaseema and Andhra regions to drop their plans to resign in protest.Singh assured them that their concerns would be addressed.Six out of 10 central ministers from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra) called on Digvijaya Singh, who is also incharge of the party affairs in Andhra Pradesh.D Purandeswari, one of the ministers who met him, said Singh assured her that a high- level committee would be constituted to look into the concerns of the people of Seemandhra.“We had gone with our resignations but he refused to accept them,” she said.The ministers briefed the Congress leader of the apprehensions of the people with regard to Hyderabad, sharing of water, revenue, electricity and other issues.They said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) should have consulted them and taken their views into consideration before taking a decision on carving separate Telangana state.Another minister, K Krupa Rani, said Singh advised them not to lose the opportunity to put forward their point of view in parliament when the bill is tabled.The central ministers will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi today. Earlier six MPs of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from Rayalaseema and Andhra decided to quit to protest the decision.The MPs told a news conference here that their decision is to protect the interest of the people of Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra).The MPs who announced their resignations at the news conference include Lok Sabha members Nimmala Kristappa (Hindupur), K Narayana Rao (Machilipatnam), M Venugopala Reddy (Narsaraopet) and Rajya Sabha members Sujana Chowdhury and C M Ramesh.Later another Lok Sabha member N Sivaprasad (Chittoor) announced he was also quitting.Meanwhile, protests rocked Rayalaseema and Andhra regions for the third day yesterday against the decision.Shutdown continued in Seemandhra, as the two regions are called, with thousands of people coming on to the streets, demanding the centre to reverse its decision.The protests intensified and took a violent turn at a few places with the protesters setting fire to vehicles.Buses of the state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) remained off the roads while shops, business establishments and educational institutions did not open for the third day.