Top officers in Delhi, Telangana hopes rise

Telangana leaders were all fired up on Thursday after Chief Secretary Mini Mathew and DGP V Dinesh Reddy were summoned to New Delhi for a meeting with the Union Home Secretary. Officials in Delhi said Home Secretary R K Singh had called Mathew, Reddy and intelligence chief Mahendra Reddy to assess the possible fallouts on the law and order situation of a decision to create a separate state.

The summoning of the top officials raised hopes among Telangana leaders that the Centre will make an announcement on the statehood demand by the month end.

"Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had said after the all-party meeting on December 28 that an announcement on separate statehood would be made by January end. I think the CS and DGP have been called to brief them because we expect the decision by January 28," said Congress leader Keshav Rao.

However, except for the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, all the other party leaders were divided resulting in a war of words, threats and claims and counter-claims. TRS leaders and Congress MPs from Telangana like Madhu Yashki Goud maintained that they were "certain" that Telangana state would be announced by the Centre on January 28. This sparked off responses from Congress leaders and MPs from coastal districts and Rayalaseema that they will not allow the state to be bifurcated.

Within the Congress, different voices are being heard with Labour Minister D Nagender saying that Hyderabad should be declared a Union Territory while other leaders said that bifurcation of the state would not be allowed. Nagender's car was attacked on Thursday by TRS activists. MPs from Rayalaseema threatened to launch an agitation if Telangana demand was acceded by the Centre.

Sources said the Congress will take a decision only after the Chintan Shivir in Jaipur.

... contd.

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