New Delhi:
Upset over the Telangana decision, Union Ministers of Congress hailing from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions on Friday offered to resign but party general general secretary Digvijay Singh requested them not to insist on it.
Union Ministers M Pallam Raju, D Purundeshwari, K Kriparani, J Surya Prakash Reddy and J D Seelam from Seemandhra region today met Singh and "offered to resign in view of the aggrieved sentiments and public anger from the Rayalseema and coastal Andhra regions", an AICC release said.
"They brought to his notice the resultant anguish arising out of the manner in which the decision of the bifurcation was taken without discussing and reflecting the concerns of the people and leaders of the two regions.
"The issues pertaining to Hyderabad, the propsoed new capital, the water sharing, concerns of farmers, students, employees and other interests were discussed," it added.
Singh, who is the AICC in-charge for Andhra Pradesh, also urged MPs, MLAs and MLCs and other party leaders not to resign but to flag the issues concerning Seemandhra region more effectively in Parliament and assembly.
He also suggested constitution of a high-level committee of the party after discussing it with Congress President Sonia Gandhi to regularly interact, in a structured manner, with leaders from the Seemandhra regions to remove the imbalances, before initiating the statutory measures pursuant to the decision to create Telangana state, a release issued by AICC said.
The release said Singh suggested that the ministers playa "proactive and progressive" role in reflecting the concerns and aspirations of the people of two regions in the process of the decision-making at this crucial juncture and requested them not to insist on the resignations.
The party's communciation came a day when rumblings within Congress over its decision to form Telangana grew on Friday with its seven MPs, a state minister and seven MLAs from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions quitting amid indications that some more are likely to follow suit.
