By IANS,
New Delhi : The Congress admitted Monday that it was plagued by divisions on the proposed state of Telangana.
Party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed also agreed in retrospect that the launch of the process to lead up to the new state appeared to have been taken “in some haste” due to the fast-unto-death by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leader K. Chandrasekhara Rao.
“It is true there is no consensus. There are two kinds of views (in the party) on the formation of Telangana. Leaders from Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra do not want a new state,” Ahmed told IANS.
He sought to pass the buck on Telangana by saying that further progress was only possible if there was a resolution from the Andhra Pradesh assembly.
“We have to wait for the resolution to take further steps,” he said, adding that the Congress was not wavering from the commitments made so far for the formation of the new state.
He said the government acted “in some haste” due to the situation created by the fast of TRS chief. “The situation was alarming. The government did not want any untoward incident to take place,” he said.
Ahmed said that Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which was earlier supporting the birth of Telangana, had changed its stance.
On the turmoil within the Congress, he said the party leadership was talking to MPs and legislators opposing the new state.
Asked about the demand for forming a State Reorganisation Commission, Ahmed said the party had no objection to it if there was a consensus.
“If there is a consensus, the government will take a decision in its wisdom,” he said.