Congress legislators from Telangana want second SRC

Hyderabad -- Legislators of the ruling Congress party belonging to Telangana urged Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to seek a second State Reorganisation Commission (SRC) to look into demand for separate statehood to the region.

A delegation of party leaders led by U. Purshottam Reddy met the chief minister Wednesday and submitted a memorandum, carrying signatures of 41 legislators.

The representation is significant in the light of Dec 7 by-election to Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat that has again brought the issue of Telangana to the centerstage of state politics.

The legislators wanted the chief minister to impress upon the Congress-led government ruling the country to constitute a second SRC.

The memorandum also demanded Rs.100 billion in special package to develop the backward region, strictly implement a government order to repatriate all government employees belonging to other regions, and an electricity quota.

However Congress leader and legislator P. Janardhan Reddy came out against the move. He did not sign the memorandum saying there was no point in demanding a second SRC when the party had already left the issue to party president Sonia Gandhi.

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), which is fighting for separate Telangana, is against a second SRC. It argues that such a step is only a tactic to delay the creation of separate state.

TRS, which revived the three decades old Telangana movement five years ago, had quit the Indian government in August to protest against the delay in carving out a separate state.

The movement received a new impetus when TRS president K. Chandrasekhara Rao quit the Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat to seek a fresh mandate. His re-election with a massive majority sparked a debate on Telangana.