Rayala T move gathers pace

Hyderabad: The sudden meeting Union Minister Gulam Nabi Azad had with AICC president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday evening and the statement made by Deputy Chief Minister C Damodara Rajanarsimha in Delhi earlier during the day that the high command was examining the proposal of Rayala Telangana; has made the leaders of Rayalaseema swing into action.

Union Minister Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy who has been one of the strong protagonists of Rayala Telangana is learnt to have convened a meeting of political leaders from Kurnool and Anantapur on Saturday evening. It is learnt that Reddy had also sought appointment from AICC president Sonia Gandhi on Monday so that he could once again plead with her to accept the proposal of merger of Kurnool and Anantapur with Telangana.

It is said that the Seemandhra Congress leaders are of the opinion that if Rayala Telangana was carved, it would help in confidence building exercise among the people from these regions who were staying in Hyderabad. Even Union Minister K Chiranjeevi said that he was also not opposed to such a move provided if that was the demand of the people from the Seema region. However, the T Congress leaders here opposed the move. Minister for Information and Technology Ponnala Laxmaiah and Minister for Civil Supplies D Sridhar Babu have strongly opposed creation of Rayala Telangana and said that only Telangana with 10 districts would be acceptable to them. On the other hand, former PCC president D Srinivas is also scheduled to meet Sonia Gandhi on Monday. He would also plead with her not to accept the proposal for Rayala Telangana.

• Kotla happy, seeks meeting with Sonia
• Ponnala, Sridhar Babu oppose the move
• Deputy CM dismisses the proposal