Anti-Telangana ministers, MPs in quit mode

[1]

Hyderabad: In a virtual showdown with the Congress leadership as well as the Union Cabinet, Union ministers and Members of Parliament belonging to the Seemandhra region threatened to resign their posts and memberships on Thursday if the Centre goes ahead with the Cabinet Note on bifurcation without consulting the A.K. Antony panel’s report that is yet to be submitted.
The resignation threat came immediately after Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday, said, “I’m in receipt of the Cabinet Note on Telangana. It will be considered by the Cabinet at an appropriate time.”
Later in the evening, Shinde said, “A draft note has come. I have no time to go through it. I will read it tomorrow (Friday) and take appropriate action, but there is no chance of placing this note in tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting.”
According to sources, the draft Cabinet Note suggests that Hyderabad City should remain with Telangana permanently, but it should also act as a temporary capital city for Seemandhra state for 10 years. “I’m yet to see the contents of the draft note. I can’t say what would be the status of Hyderabad,” Shinde said.
However, there’s still uncertainty about whether the Union Cabinet meeting at 9.45 am on Friday will consider the Telangana note or not. Sources said that though the note is not part of the regular agenda, it could be circulated as a “table item” in the Cabinet meeting itself depending on the urgency of the matter.