7 Cong MPs quit,ministers back out

In a late-night statement,Singh said they offered to resign “in view of the aggrieved sentiments and public anger from the Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions”.

“They brought to (my) notice the resultant anguish arising out of the manner in which the decision of the bifurcation was taken without discussing and reflecting the concerns of the people and leaders of the region. The issues pertaining to Hyderabad,the proposed new capital,water-sharing,concerns of farmers,students,employees and other interests were discussed,” Singh said.

Singh told them that a high-level party committee would be set up after consultation with party chief Sonia Gandhi to “regularly interact in a structured manner with leaders from the Seemandhra regions to remove the imbalances before initiating the statutory measures” for creation of Telangana.

Dissuading the ministers from resigning,Singh asked them to play a proactive role in “reflecting the concerns and aspirations of the people of the two regions in the process of the decision making”. With the ministers relenting,a division of sorts has appeared in the anti-Telangana pressure group.

According to sources,11 MPs had attended a meeting at Rajya Sabha MP K V P Ramachandra Rao’s residence here Thursday night where the resignation plan was finalised and among them were ministers Pallam Raju,Purandeswari,Seelam and Kruparani Killi.

The grand plan seems to have failed with only six Lok Sabha MPs and Rao resigning. The MPs said they were especially upset over the Congress decision to make Hyderabad the common capital for 10 years during which the mother state will have to find a new capital.