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With Congress MPs from Telangana disrupting Parliament for three consecutive days, an embarrassed party leadership attempted on Wednesday to buy temporary peace with them till the two budgets — the Railway and the General — are safely out of the way.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, and Political Secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, met the Telangana MPs, and assured them that the matter would be taken up after the presentation of the Union budget on February 28, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said. “After the presentation of the budget on February 28, senior leaders will talk to the Telangana MPs and the matter will be discussed,” Mr. Ahmed told journalists.
With Congress MPs from Telangana threatening to commit suicide on the Parliament premises if their demand for a separate State was not accepted, and demanding that the Prime Minister make a statement on the issue, things were getting increasingly difficult for the party leadership, which has just bought peace with the Opposition by accepting a JPC on the 2G spectrum issue.
Of course, the two-member Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) said it would continue to disrupt proceedings in the Lok Sabha till a time frame was announced on the creation of the State.
“Silent spectator”
Later, TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao told journalists: “The Prime Minister himself was present in the House, but he remained a silent spectator to our agitation. It is very unfortunate.”
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, and Political Secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, met the Telangana MPs, and assured them that the matter would be taken up after the presentation of the Union budget on February 28, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said. “After the presentation of the budget on February 28, senior leaders will talk to the Telangana MPs and the matter will be discussed,” Mr. Ahmed told journalists.
With Congress MPs from Telangana threatening to commit suicide on the Parliament premises if their demand for a separate State was not accepted, and demanding that the Prime Minister make a statement on the issue, things were getting increasingly difficult for the party leadership, which has just bought peace with the Opposition by accepting a JPC on the 2G spectrum issue.
Of course, the two-member Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) said it would continue to disrupt proceedings in the Lok Sabha till a time frame was announced on the creation of the State.
“Silent spectator”
Later, TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao told journalists: “The Prime Minister himself was present in the House, but he remained a silent spectator to our agitation. It is very unfortunate.”