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After turmoil in Andhra, Congress backtracks on 2nd SRC |
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After the loud thinking by the central leadership of the Congress on setting up a Second States’ Reorganisation Commission triggered turmoil in Andhra Pradesh, the United Progressive Alliance Government is backtracking on the issue. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, speaking to reporters on his way back from China, said that no decision has been taken so far to set up the Second SRC, and that the proposal does not figure on the Government’s immediate agenda.
The Prime Minister, however, admitted that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had indeed made a recommendation for setting up the second SRC. But he said, “The Cabinet has not taken such a decision.
Taking the cue from Dr. Manmohan Singh’s statement, the Congress sought to distance itself further from the issue under apprehension that the move might open a political Pandora’s box across the country. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said in New Delhi on Jan. 16, “we are not averse to the second SRC, but there is no such proposal under consideration at the moment, which is ultimately for the Government to decide. As of now, SRC is neither a government, nor a party proposal.”
Observers say the statement is at variance with indications that came from the Congress a fortnight or so ago, giving rise to the perception that it was veering round to accepting the demand to set up the reorganisation panel.
The Congress fears that its prospects in Andhra Pradesh could be damaged because of a re-intensified campaign for the creation of Telangana to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh, and the pro-SRC comments were seen as overtures towards its estranged ally, Telangana Rashtra Samiti.
The rethink suggests that the party and the government would be wary of opening a Pandora’s box a year ahead of Lok Sabha polls. It may have been prompted by the growing chorus of demands for new states from various quarters.
While the buzz that the 2nd SRC could be around the corner led the TRS to up its ante on the separate Telangana plank, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Jan. 15 launched a high-decibel advocacy for the division of Uttar Pradesh into four units - Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Harit Pradesh and the yet-to-christened central part.
The Congress had also supported the demand for Bundelkhand state, besides backing the old demand for bifurcation of Maharashtra to create Vidarbha.
The campaign for new states in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh would have certainly given a fillip to similar agitations in the North-east, with potentially serious law and order repercussions in states where tensions among different ethnic groups simmer beneath the surface.
Significantly, the retreat by the Congress may not hurt its bid to reach out to TRS. Singhvi said that Telangana could be treated as a stand-alone case which can be examined without having to set up the panel. TRC, which has moved into a higher gear threatening resignations from Assembly and Parliament if the process for the creation of separate Telangana did not get rolling by March 6, is also opposed to the setting up of the SRC, suspecting that it could be a device to buy time.
The move to set up the second SRC had led to sharp divisions in the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Congress. Party legislators and a member of Parliament from Telangana region had threatened to resign as they perceived that the second SRC would put the issue of the creation of a Telangana state in cold storage. On the other hand, party leaders from the Andhra region, who are against the creation of a separate Telangana state, did not favour any policy decision which would make the creation of Telangana inevitable, in the long term, if not the immediate future. Significantly, State Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy rushed to New Delhi and met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Jan. 15 to seek some breathing space on the issue. The Chief Minister who belongs to the Andhra region and is not comfortable with the division of the state, met the central leadership with a PCC resolution authorising the high command to take the final view on the issue.
Reports of likely constitution of a second SRC in the near future came after chairman of the AICC’s media department M. Veerappa Moily said in Hyderabad about ten days back that the government would form an SRC and refer the Telengana and Vidarbha issues to it. But he clarified on Jan. 14 that he was merely reading out the election manifesto of the Andhra Pradesh Congress and not stating anything else. He said, “I read out an extract from the manifesto which clearly states the aspirations of the people of Telangana and Vidarbha and constituting an SRC to look into them.”
The position, however, is different in the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP). Sources said that under Left pressure, the Congress had dropped the constitution of the SRC and only mentioned formation of a separate Telangana state. Sources said that the Left’s objection to the SRC constitution persists.
A senior Congress leader said, “The Left feels that SRC constitution would fuel demands of Gorkhaland and other such regional sentiments in the east.”
Sources said that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee who heads the three-member group looking into the Telangana demand, is trying to build consensus on the issue. A senior leader said, “Due to the Left reservations, we would only address the Telangana issue. No decision has been taken so far on SRC formation.”
The BJP on its part, has said that it supports the creation of a separate state of Telangana to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh. Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said in New Delhi on Jan. 17 that the party would not allow the Centre to use the pretext of a second SRC to delay the formation of Telangana.
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