Ten ministers from the Telangana region faced public anger for withdrawing their resignations after the Centre invited eight political parties to Delhi for talks on statehood. Protestors are so furious that they have vowed not to let the ministers enter their constituencies.
Agitators gathered outside irrigation minister P Lakshmaiah's house in Warangal on Thursday and were poised to strike but police stopped them. A day after the home ministry invited representatives of eight political parties to Delhi on January 5 for a formal discussion on the Telangana issue, all the 12 ministers from Telangana, who had submitted their resignations, decided to take them back.
After a prolonged meeting with the Pradesh Congress Committee president D Srinivas and a telephonic conversation with Union law minister Veerappa Moily, the ministers decided to join the cabinet.
"The fact that the Centre has begun discussing Telangana proves that it is committed about statehood. We are taking our resignations back," information minister J Geeta Reddy said. "But, if something goes wrong after the January 5 meeting, we will not hesitate to resign. As ministers from the region we are committed for Telangana," another minister J Krishna Rao said.
However, the decision sparked widespread protest in the region and led students to label the ministers "traitors". The convener of the all-party joint action committee (JAC), professor Kodandaram, too termed the ministers' decision 'unfortunate'.
Seeing the public mood, IT minister K Venkat Reddy and higher education minister D Sridhar Babu said they would not withdraw their resignations.
Meanwhile, the parties which will attend the January 5 meet are busy doing their homework. Each party has been asked to nominate two representatives for the meeting. With most parties unable to speak in one voice on Telangana, identifying speakers who can offer a balanced and accurate view to the Centre is becoming difficult.
