With political parties and the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet deeply divided on the proposal for creation of a separate Telangana, the state Assembly was on Monday adjourned indefinitely following an uproar. The Central government said it could not allow a discussion in the Lok Sabha till the state Assembly passes a resolution for Telangana.
In New Delhi, law minister M Veerappa Moily said: ?We want to take everybody on board.? Urging people not to act in panic, Moily said a ?solution will be found?. He ruled out imposition of President?s rule in Andhra Pradesh and said there was no truth in reports that Rosaiah had been asked to quit or was resigning.
MPs from Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, protesting against the proposed bifurcation, met finance minister and leader of the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee for a ?clarification? on home minister P Chidambaram?s statement on initiating the process of a separate Telangana.
?Mukherjee assured us that the resolution has to come from the state Assembly. Till then, there cannot be a discussion on the issue in Lok Sabha,? KS Rao, MP from coastal Andhra, told reporters. He said the MPs told Mukherjee that the situation was ?very grave? and delay in taking a decision would cause a ?mental divide? in different areas.
The Congress echoed Mukherjee?s views when it said the Central government would take the next step only after the state Assembly passes the resolution for Telangana. Then the party would support it, AICC spokesman Shakeel Ahmad told reporters.
In Hyderabad, Congress MLAs from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra decided to mount pressure on MPs from the regions to quit their posts and fight against the proposed division of the state. The MLAs met under the leadership of Lagadapati Rajagopal, who resigned from Parliament, and senior leader JC Diwakar Reddy in the Assembly committee hall and were of the view that efforts being put in by MPs from the two regions in New Delhi were proving ?inadequate?.