8 parties invited to MHA’s T-meet
The Union home ministry has written letters to eight political parties of Andhra Pradesh formally inviting them for an all-party meet on the Telangana issue on December 28. The MHA has sent letters to INC, BJP, TDP, TRS, CPI (M), CPI, MIM and YSR Congress Party inviting them for the meet to be held at North Block in the national capital. Two representatives each from the political parties have been invited for the crucial meet to be chaired by home minister Sushilkumar Shinde. MHA sources said so far the CPI(M) and CPI have confirmed their presence. “Other parties still have to respond,” a senior official said.
The last all-party meet on the Telangana issue was held on January 6, 2011. Besides the seven political parties, the erstwhile Praja Rajyam, which stood for a united Andhra Pradesh, had been invited to the last meeting convened by the home ministry in 2011. Now, after Praja Rajyam’s merger with the Congress, the empty slot has been filled by the YSRC which is the new entry into the list of eight political parties invited by the MHA this time.
MHA officials said there is no fixed agenda for the meet, but the new home minister will hear the views of the parties in the backdrop of the long pending demand for carving a separate state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. While an immediate solution may still not be in sight, Mr Shinde is keen that the parties concerned not only make their stand clear, but also get an opportunity to register their concerns, apprehensions and solutions to the vexed issue. The Congress, TDP, YSR Congress party have not yet taken a clear stand on the issue.While the TRS, BJP and CPI are demanding a separate Telangana state, the CPI-M and MIM are opposed to it.
Senior government sources said that Mr Shinde has carefully studied the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee report that went into the demands for a separate Telangana state and keeping Andhra Pradesh united. The report has suggested several options and pros and cons to approach the statehood issue. Mr Shinde, meanwhile, is also aware of the security concerns accompanying the demand for a separate Telangana state, after security sources pointed out that the problem of Naxalism has visited other states which have been bifurcated in recent times.
The law and order in Andhra Pradesh remains the prime concern for the home ministry for now as it prepares to dicusss the Telangana issue once again.
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