HYDERABAD: “Yes, I understand. Yes, I appreciate your feelings. Yes, I agree the demand has existed for long...’’ These were some of the “comforting” words that Telangana ministers, MPs and MLCs got from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during their 40-minute meeting with him on Monday.That the words gave the Telangana flock little comfort was evident from a statement they put out late in the evening.They still spoke of sacrificing everything for the cause.The 11-member delegation, including ministers K Jana Reddy, J Geeta Reddy, D K Aruna, MPs Madhu Yashki, V Hanumanth Rao, K Keshava Rao and G Vivek, and MLC P Sudhakar Reddy, trooped into the PM’s office at 12.30 pm.After settling down in their chairs, they began pouring out their woes one by one as Singh, who was alone, listened patiently but saying nothing. It was Jana Reddy who began to narrate the woes of Congress leaders in Telangana, crushed between the expectations of the people of Telangana and the lack of clarity from the Centre.“It has been almost two years since ministers from Telangana visited Coastal Andhra or Rayalaseema, or ministers from those two regions have visited Telangana. There is a vertical divide, sir. Please do something.” Geeta Reddy and Aruna chipped in with statements seconding Jana Reddy.Geeta Reddy added that Telangana leaders are unable to face their constituents.Jana Reddy pointed out that the movement has so far been peaceful but could spin out of control now.He gave statistics of the number of people killed in the separate state agitation in 1969. At this point, the Prime Minister responded: “Yes, Yes. I have been hearing about such a situation.”When his turn came, Hanumanth Rao said that the Telangana people were only demanding restoration of a state that existed prior to the merger with Andhra and, therefore, the status of Hyderabad could not be the bone of contention.The Prime Minister pointed out that AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad has given an elaborate report on various issues surrounding the demand for division of Andhra Pradesh and that the core committee of the Congress would examine it in detail.Sudhakar Reddy is understood to have suggested that the Centre could take two steps now -- one immediate and another a long-term one -- to enable the strikers to call of the strike.There was no response to this from the PM.Kesava Rao butted in to point out that Telangana Congress leaders were first asked to wait till Assembly elections were over in some states and then Azad took his own time to prepare his report.“How many times can we tell people some excuse or the other?” Rao reportedly remarked.To this, the PM responded, “I know it is a long pending demand” and added the rider that the Centre needed to talk to leaders from all other regions too. And, finally, he promised to convey the feelings expressed by the delegation to Sonia Gandhi and other top party leaders.The delegation were then shown out.
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