Opinion Because it said so

Imagine a doctor leaving a patient on the operating table halfway through a surgery to attend to other issues. The fate of the division of Andhra Pradesh today appears to be that of the patient. The process,whose origins can be traced back to nearly a decade ago,still continues to be a work in progress. Like the doctor who keeps returning to the operating room at regular intervals,the Congress-led UPA government has revisited its decision many times over. Each visit,however,addresses only the complications,leaving the procedure incomplete. If this were to go on,our good doctor is soon likely to find that everything has fallen apart. The present state of affairs in Andhra Pradesh is close to this and the Congress may soon have to pay for both gross negligence as well as arrogance.

From fuelling the current demand in 1999,when in opposition,to distract and undermine the victorious and influential Chandrababu Naidu,to passing a cabinet resolution earlier this month,both the Congress and Telangana have travelled a long way. The issue of Telangana has probably witnessed more ups and downs in the last decade than it has over the last 60 years. It was on the manifesto of the Congress in 2004 but was deflated temporarily by the setting up of the Punchhi Commission on Centre-State Relations. It was revived by the midnight announcement of the home minister in December 2009,only to be deflected by the setting up of the Justice Srikrishna Committee in February 2010. Unexpectedly,at the end of July this year,the UPA coordination panel and the Congress Working Committee (CWC) decided to divide the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The scale of the consequences arising from the CWC resolution had probably not been anticipated. The immediate and most serious causality of the decision has been the paralysis of the state government. It has also been accompanied by a non-formalised division of the Congress party,between those batting for Telangana and those for a united Andhra. What have,however,remained unchanged before and after the decision are the agitations. Though,of course,the actors,demands and the sites of agitation vary. If the demand for bifurcation and Telangana regularly hit the headlines over the last decade,the Samaikyandhra movement,agitating for the cause of a united Andhra,has now quickly filled that space. At the same time,the site of the agitation has shifted from Telangana to the coastal region.

The Samaikyandhra movement,which began in 2009,has been collectively supported by government employees,students,teachers and advocates in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. It has upped the ante over the last two months and the recent power utility disturbance brought it national attention. The indefinite strike by the Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers,an employees union,has ensured that government offices barely function. The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation has not been able to run its full fleet,which has both disrupted movement and bled the corporation. Educational institutions in the two regions have been partially closed. There have also been reports of declining revenue collection as a result of uncertainty. Ironically,all this is happening when the state has received adequate rainfall and its reservoirs are full after many years.

There are two ways to evaluate a decision. One is to examine the process of decision-making and the second,to focus on the outcomes. The Congress-led UPA appears to have got it wrong on both counts. If it had got just one of these dimensions right,the state and the people would have been better off. The Congress first acted as if it would never have to bite the bullet. Telangana — its people,issues,concerns and priorities — has never been genuinely on the top of the Congress agenda. The party was never firm on its commitment and has almost always used Telangana for strategic purposes. Over the last decade,it has oscillated between bifurcation and status quo,depending on the political circumstances. This extraordinary focus on the short term does not behove a party with such a long history. So,it is now trying to be too clever by half by attempting to claim credit for the creation of a new state.

Timing is everything. Decisions that are painful are best taken and implemented swiftly to reduce agony and heartburn. The signals on Telangana have been confusing and the decisions have been prolonged. The painfully agonising gap between decisions has increased the uncertainty and ensured a continuous disruption of life.

At the same time,not wanting to share credit,the Congress has refused to create space for a dialogue to address the apprehensions and concerns of the affected. This has only added to the suspicion that the decision was motivated by crude electoral considerations. The other main political formation,the TDP,has also been acting in a confused and disjointed manner,partly as a result of the Congress actions.

The Congress may have succeeded in neutralising potential veto players like the TRS,the TDP and the BJP,but it probably took itself for granted. The party has always seen a lot of control and central intervention,but this decision might have stretched things too far. The state unit was never in the loop as the central leadership was more concerned about the political situation at the national level than in the state. This fait accompli mode of decision-making,without respect for the state unit,has reduced the latter’s space to manoeuvre. Ultimately,it is the state unit that has to face the brunt of the decision and it is understandable that it exhibits a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

By now,the Congress should have learnt that the meanings of yesterday’s decisions are often discovered today. Therefore,how it actually takes the decision forward and what outcome it results in may help it save its own honour and bring succour to a much troubled people.

The writer is with the department of political science,University of Hyderabad

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