Congress Core Group confirms to place Telangana Bill in Upcoming Parliament Session

Telangana bill will be brought up in the upcoming Parliament session, Congress said today downplaying its rejection in the Andhra Pradesh Legislature.

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi discussed the issue at the meeting of the core group, party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters that Congress was committed to creation of Telangana.

Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi also attended the meeting.

Noting that what happened in the state Assembly was “not at all unexpected”, Singhvi had a veiled dig at BJP saying parties “shedding crocodile tears” over the issue will be “exposed” when the bill comes up in Parliament.

“What happened there (in state Assembly) was not at all unexpected. UPA government is committed to Telangana. Though it does not require the prior approval of assembly, we believe in process and that process we have gone through diligently,” he said.

He also hit out at Opposition parties over their ‘shifting’ stand over the issue. “Other parties, who have been shedding crocodile tears will be exposed. It remains to be seen as to what extent they cooperate. UPA government has already moved forward towards the creation of Telangana,” he said.

A party leader speaking on the condition of anonymity said delay on the Telangana decision happened as Congress wanted to build consensus of all parties and when it realised that it needed to bite the bullet, the party did that.

“BJP may not like to see us walking away with the credit of creating Telangana. But they had committed creation of the new state publicly. So any contrary step will expose them,” the leader said.

Source: Outlook