Congress' Telangana crisis: Rajagopal leads revolt

He was arrested twice on Monday - both times to prevent him from starting a hunger strike. The Congress MP from Vijayawada, L Rajagopal, who was not allowed to fast outside the Assembly in the morning, announced one at Olympic Bhawan at Hyderabad's Lal Bahadur Stadium in the evening. He was prevented from doing so again.

After being taken into preventive custody on Monday morning as he landed in Hyderabad from Delhi, the Congress MP from Vijayawada spent the day talking to both sides - the Chief Minister and the MLAs that have resigned in protest against the splitting of Andhra Pradesh. In the evening, he led the revolt from the front saying he would march from the Assembly to Olympic Bhawan and fast. His mission: to ensure the anti-Telangana revolt within the Congress stays strong.

On Tuesday, pro-Unified-Andhra-Pradesh Congress leaders have announced a march from the statue of Potti Sriramulu to Raj Bhawan. The choice of venue to begin the march is significant - Potti Sriramulu had fasted in support of creating the state of Andhra Pradesh in 1952 and died. TG Venkatesh, the Congress MLA from Kurnool said: ``We are requesting the MPs also to resign. Only then the pressure and importance will be there.''

Rajagopal's decision is the latest migraine for a Congress government that has spent sleepless nights since Wednesday, when, in a surprise announcement, Home Minister P Chidambaram sanctioned a new state for Telangana. The move backfired within hours, with 135 MLAs from different parties resigning from the Andhra Assembly in protest against the bifurcation of the state. Nearly 20 ministers in the Andhra government have also said they will resign.

The political developments have been matched with public protests. After weeks of pro-Telangana supporters raising hell on the streets, it's now the "Pro-Andhra "campaigners who're stopping trains, holding rallies, threatening violence in the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of the state.

What Rajagopal wants is an immediate vote on the Telangana proposal in the Andhra Assembly. His belief is that the proposal will be defeated. That would also be a huge embarrassment for both the Congress party in Delhi, and for its chief minister, K Rosaiah. The Assembly on Monday morning was adjourned sine die or indefinitely, allowing the Congress to buy time for a reconciliation process both within, and with other parties like Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party.

TDP has decided to meet Andhra Assembly Speaker on Tuesday. The party wants Speaker to accept resignations of its MLAs. Fifty TDP MLAs have resigned so far, opposing Telangana state.

But a truce seems unlikely. Naidu has been quick to accuse the Congress of "humiliating the chief minister" by not keeping him informed of its decision to sanction the new state. And while an emergency Andhra cabinet meeting has been called on Tuesday evening, the MLAs who have resigned and are rallying around Rajagopal, have appealed to other Congress MPs from the Coastal and Rayalaseema regions to quit too.

In Delhi, the Congress deputed senior leader Pranab Mukherjee to meet with Andhra MPs to reassure them that their opinions will be considered. Law minister Veerappa Moily also said there's no question of President's Rule in Andhra.

So what happens next?

Kurnool MLA TG Venkatesh had a clear message on behalf of those that have sent in resignations: ``If there is clarity from the High Command that the subject matter is deferred and it will be discussed, definitely everyone will withdraw.''

Source - http://www.ndtv.com