Congress’s ill-conceived idea of Rayala T

The proposed Rayala Telangana in place of Telangana, to be carved out as 29th State of Indian Union, is an ill-conceived idea of the Congress party. Should this proposal materialise it will lead to a state of chaos in both the regions.

In the first place it will make the CWC resolution look like a farce and will devalue the approval of UPA. It will also be seen as Congress behaving like a big brother and taking its UPA partners for granted. Moreover, it is not as if the issue of adding the two districts of Rayalaseema or the four districts of that region were not considered before. There have been countless representations and consultations on many permutations and combinations of State division.

These options did not find the favour of all those concerned with the exercise of state division for justifiable reasons. The people of Telangana have been merely asking for de-merger and given the historical blunders committed by the Congress in this regard the CWC decision was seen as correcting the mistake it made in the past.

It was a mistake to think that people speaking one language could live together harmoniously notwithstanding their historical and cultural differences which were accentuated by economic disparities. Therefore, the very origin of AP was fraught with abnormality. Now having discovered the genetic aberration the proposal for adding two districts of Rayalaseema can be seen as Congress inability to isolate that abnormality.

The justification for RayalaTelangana, if there is one, can only be specious. Ostensibly it is touted as a solution to the vexed issues of capital for residuary AP and of Krishna waters. It is also seen as providing political space for MIM whose representation in the RayalaTelangana Assembly would be in respectable numbers if these two districts are included. Further some leaders of these two districts seem to have given resolutions of village panchayats in favour of joining Telangana.

Conversely, it can be argued whether people of other districts of Rayalaseema namely Chittoor and Kadapa would support division of Rayalaseema and eventual loss of identity of the region as a whole. How will the Congress answer that question is anybody’s guess. Viewed from any angle the proposal to form Rayala Telangana is an exercise in absurdity. It reflects Congress party’s political bankruptcy and brinkmanship. One cannot solve a problem by creating a few more.

Telangana does not have anything in common with Rayalaseema – historically, geographically and culturally. On the contrary given the politically aggressive leadership of Rayalaseema in AP and their ability to co-opt leaders of their ilk from Telangana it is very likely that social tensions assume greater intensity making the new State a seething cauldron. It is believed widely by many that this proposal was meant to marginalise TRS or to coerce it to merge with the Congress. However, it is very unlikely to get that result. Having been the champion of Telangana cause, the TRS is in a position to resist the move and may refuse to get cowed down.

Telangana people, on the other hand, may throw their weight behind TRS paving way for yet another phase of agitation for Telangana with ten districts. Either way it will be foolhardy for Congress to tinker with Telangana. Now is time for Congress leadership to show political maturity which should reflect their astuteness rather than ineptitude.

(The writer is Convener, Telangana History Society)