Cong MPs, MLAs Refuse to Quit, Telangana JAC On Brink of Split

The all-party Action Committee (JAC) on Telangana seems to be heading towards a split as Congress MPs and MLAs have refused to step down to protest the terms of reference of the Srikrishna Committee formed by the Centre to study the demand, reported PTI.

Congress leaders from the region also alleged that JAC was acting on behalf of TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, and decided that it would chalk out its course of action on the issue, said report.

Urging JAC convenor M Kodandaram not to work like a ‘postman’ of the TRS supremo, Congress MP Ponnam Prabhakar asked him to take into consideration the views of all parties before taking a decision, said report.

JAC had asked all elected representatives of Telangana to quit by Monday evening, failing which a series of protests would be launched against them culminating in their social boycott from Feb 19.

Reacting sharply to the protests being held outside the homes of party legislators and MPs, Prabhakar was quoted as saying, “If they continue to lay siege to our houses, it will have serious consequences.

Only two of 50 Congress legislators from Telangana have submitted their resignations to the assembly speaker, who has not yet accepted them.

The speaker, however, accepted the resignations of all 10 TRS legislators as well as one each of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). One legislator of the Praja Rajyam Party has also submitted his resignation.

Both TRS MPs, including Chandrasekhara Rao, have also decided to resign.

All 39 TDP legislators have decided to submit their resignations to Kodandaram to put pressure on him to get the resignations of Congress legislators. However, Kodandaram has asked TDP leaders to submit their papers to the speaker.

There are 119 legislators from Telangana in the 294-member Andhra Pradesh assembly while the region accounts for 17 out of 42 MPs from the state.

Ignoring the JAC deadline, the Congress leaders said they would not resign and instead decided to write a letter to party president Sonia Gandhi to revise the terms of reference of Srikrishna committee and reduce its term to six months, said report.

“We will inform her that it has become difficult for us to go to our own constituencies and request her to respect the sentiments of Telangana people,” Congress legislator Bhikshmaiah Goud was quoted as saying.