Digvijay meets CM, sets no deadline for T announcement

To visit Vizag on June 30; Hyd on July 1

New Delhi: AICC General Secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, Digvijay Singh, on Wednesday night came calling at AP Bhavan to meet State Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. While Telangana did figure in the discussions, Digvijay Singh continued to maintain that there is no impending announcement in the offing. The issue is complex and complicated and is being discussed at various levels and hinted that it is bound to take time to evolve political consensus. Emerging from the meeting, Digvijay Singh said, "When we discuss Andhra Pradesh, obviously everything is discussed." This was his response to questions whether Telangana was discussed. He said even the Congress High Command is discussing the issue. However, he refused to set any deadline for a decision on Telangana, saying so many deadlines were missed in the past.

There is a minor change in his tour of Andhra Pradesh. Now, Digvijay Singh will be visiting Visakhapatnam on June 30 and Hyderabad on July 1. Since the panchayat polls are due, the strategy for the polls will be finalised with Kiran Kumar Reddy and APCC President Botcha Satyanarayana. Reacting to the unseemly row at the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun between the TDP and Congress leaders, Digvijay Singh said it was unfortunate. The meeting between the two leaders assumes significance, as the Chief Minister is waiting in the Capital for an appointment with Congress President Sonia Gandhi. For two days, she had been away in Jammu & Kashmir along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Kiran Reddy may get the appointment with Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.

In the meeting lasting for over two hours, Digvijay Singh is understood to have discussed governance issues with Kiran Reddy. The Chief Minister is understood to have brought to the notice of Digvijay Singh the issue of filling up Cabinet vacancy and the key issue of allocation of the prestigious Home portfolio, in the wake of the resignation of incumbent Sabita Indra Reddy. While State Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha is eyeing the Home portfolio, the Chief Minister is understood to be arguing in favour of the portfolio being entrusted to a lady from the Telangana region.

Kiran Reddy is believed to be batting for Information & Public Relations Minister D K Aruna. The other name under his consideration is D Sridhar Babu, who is a close confidante of the Chief Minister. A related issue that figured was enforcing discipline. The way some of the Congress leaders are publicly criticising the Chief Minister is what he has objected to. In this context, it was explained that the sacking of D L Ravindra Reddy was necessitated. Airing of contrary views within the party over certain issues is understandable but rushing to the media to target the Government and Government schemes is bound to be counter-productive, especially in the run-up to the crucial local bodies polls and the Assembly and Parliament elections next year.

Primarily, the Chief Minister is understood to have emphasised that the party must project the numerous schemes launched by him as party schemes. After all, he said, it was the Government schemes that will go a long way in fetching votes for the Congress during the elections. Far from showcasing the numerous schemes launched by him, some Congress leaders are making it a point to publicly criticize them.