Developments in southern states have virtually put the Centre on tenterhooks. While the DMK is becoming a liability for the ruling coalition with textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran coming under the CBI scanner in the 2G scam, the demand for a separate Telangana state has put the Union government in a fix.
The Congress insiders fear that these developments could make the floor management more complex during the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning on August 1.
The DMK is getting isolated at the Centre after the arrest of former Union minister A. Raja and party MP Kanimozhi. Now, the party is finding it difficult to defend Mr Maran.
On the Telangana issue, the Congress is giving conflicting signals and thereby remaining non-committal at a time when Andhra Pradesh is completely divided on pro-Telangana and anti-Telangana demands.
Members of Parliament from Andhra who have been sending their resignation letters to the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairman on this issue, will find it difficult to dilute their position.
A senior Congress official said, “The net beneficiary of this agitation could be the TRS led by K. Chandra Shekhar Rao”.
Though the current mood in the Congress is that the government should not proceed to form a Telangana state as this will strengthen the demand of smaller states in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, a section of the party’s Union ministers view that the Telangana issue could be resolved by making Hyderabad a Union territory like Chandigarh.
The Congress, TDP, TRS MPs are competing with each other in hardening the stand on pro and anti-Telangana, demanding a time-frame to resolve the issue, while a section of the Congress feels that this issue may not damage much as the Congress is speaking of both united Andhra and a Telangana state.
Meanwhile, the coming Parliament Session could be significant politically and the process of political realignment could begin. The BSP, which has 21 members in the Lok Sabha, will find it difficult to be friendly with the Centre because of the impending Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The AIADMK (9) has been keen on replacing the DMK (18) in the UPA if the latter parts ways.
The Samajwadi Party (22) could remain with the Congress after the latter made the Mayawati-led government its main target of attack.