The Parliament had a glimpse of what is in store when President Pratibha Patil addressed the joint session of Parliament. Even before the Vice President Hamid Ansari could read the English version of President’s speech, the Congress MPs from Telengana got up with a placard in their hands and demanded a separate Telengana.

MPs from all parties led by the Telengana Rashtra Samithi president K. Chandra Shekhar Rao interrupted proceedings for two days. Although the Prime Minister intervened and bought peace with the Congress MPs the problem is not tackled. The Congress may listen to him but not the people of Telengana. The AICC initially indulged them for addressing their domestic compulsions but BJP's taunts to the government to bring a bill for creation of Telengana has left it uneasy. The presence of TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao, who has the backing of the BJP, may raise the bar for Congressmen.

The real concern is the functioning of the state government where even payment of salaries to the government servants this month is at stake. The pro Telengana elements in the government are on a non- cooperative movement. With the government paralyzed, there is total chaos at the secretariat level.

The more worrying feature is the recent decision of the Telengana Joint Action Committee and the Telengana Rashtra Samithi launching a “Chalo Hyderabad” agitation. There are grand plans, which include asking pro-Telengana elements to march towards Hyderabad from all sides and culminate in a complete siege of the city. They think that the siege of the state capital will bring not only Hyderabad but also the entire state to a halt and force the Centre to take a call on Telengana. But the storm has been weathered with the event being postponed indefinitely through back channel intervention.

At another level, they are also trying to mobilise the students and the TRS and the TJAC plan to mobilise at least one-lakh students from the Osmania University to fuel the protests. With the protestors not easing their stand and demanding for nothing less than a separate Telengana state, the organizers have revealed that talks are on to include Congress and TDP MLAs and MPs to join as well. The lawyers and teachers are also to be roped in. With the annual examinations scheduled in March this could spell trouble for students

The congress high command has tried to browbeat its M/Ps but that is not going to last. After all the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has only sought time until he presents the budget and after that it will be free for all. After meeting Pranab Mukherjee, they claimed they were assured that Telengana 'was not a closed chapter'. Now the Congress MPs are targeting Home Minister P. Chidambaram and the state Governor ESL Narasimhan for the unrest. They have submitted a letter to the Prime Minister seeking the removal of the Governor. They want him to be replaced by a neutral person arguing that he was misleading the centre about the actual state of things in the state. Their real worry is that if by any chance President’s rule is imposed in the state the governor would have a significant role to play in guiding the centre. They blamed Chidambaram for their disruptive actions, saying he had failed to call the all-party meeting on the Srikrishna report despite announcing dates of January-end and then of second week of February.

The irony is that the main Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is likely to change its line on the Telengana issue soon as it wants to shed its anti-Telengana tag. During the budget session of the Assembly, the TDP would like the State government to adopt a resolution demanding that the Centre introduce a T-Bill in Parliament. While it is not clear whether the change of stance is due to its confidence that the UPA will not carve a separate state or that bifurcation is inevitable, but what appears certain is that the TDP intends to derive mileage by taking an aggressive stand.

The Congress has to tackle the situation with great sensitivity. The Congress MPs from both the Telengana and Seema — Andhra are anxiously watching. The problem is that the high command is faced with the Hobson’s choice. How long it can delay taking a view is anybody’s guess. But the sooner it finalizes the better as the patience of the MPs and MLAs is wearing out. The MPs are already having group meetings and dinner meetings. The Congress has to decide one way or the other or else things will go out of hand. If it is banking on more meetings of political parties nothing more can come out of them as each of the state parties are adamant in their stand. Quick decision is what makes a management successful and the Congress has to make up its mind sooner than later. (IPA Service)