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| Will Jammu MPs go Telangana MPs' way? | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Jan 28: Seven Congress MPs from Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh will tomorrow send their resignation letters to AICC president Sonia Gandhi to register their protest against the failure of the Congress-led UPA Government to fulfill its solemn commitment that it will announce the "final decision" on the age-old demand seeking division of the state and creation of new Telangana state out of it latest by January 28. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had himself set the deadline soon after he chaired an all-party meeting on Telangana issue in Delhi on December 28.
A number of Congress MPs from the region, who are under pressure, yesterday and today accused their own party of disregarding the sentiments of the people of Telangana region, adopting delaying tactics to scuttle the issue and leaving them with no other option but to take an extreme step. They said that their patience has ended and that "they are on the side of the people", as they have to face them. The Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS), which has been spearheading the statehood movement in the region, has very strongly asked the Congress MPs and MLAs to resign to express their solidarity with the agitating people. "The Congress has once again back-stabbed the people of Telangana. We urge all the Congress MPs and MLAs from Telangana to quit the party and join the agitation. Let us topple the Government as it has betrayed the people," a senior TRS legislator T Harish Rao yesterday said. The TRS factor has created a serious situation for the local Congress leaders, including MPs and MLAs. Another factor that has influenced the local Congress leadership is the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC)-sponsored 36-hour-long "protest programme", which led to a serious law and order problem in Hyderabad.
The fact is that all or nearly all the Telangana region leaders have joined hands and their complaint against the central Congress leadership is that it has betrayed the people of the region by not honouring its solemn commitment. People need such leadership. People need representatives who appreciate their feelings and respect and fulfill the promises they make during election days and through their election manifestos. Credit goes to the Telangana leadership for the firm stand it has taken on the issue taking into consideration the popular mood.
Now the question is: Will the two Jammu MPs, who belong to the Congress party and who got mandate from the people of Jammu both in 2004 and 2009 on the Jammu plank, also go the way their counterparts in Telangana have gone? If the Congress has betrayed the people of Telangana, it has also betrayed its constituency in Jammu. The JKPCC had in 2002 held out a categorical commitment that the Congress, if voted to power, shall establish "region development board" in Jammu to end discrimination with its people. The then JKPCC president Ghulam Nabi Azad, along with other senior leaders, had given an unambiguous assurance to this effect during the press conference. In fact, it was part of the Congress' election manifesto. The Congress garnered votes, but took no time in betraying the people. Azad took a complete U-turn on the issue while addressing a gathering of selected people in Hotel Asia, Jammu, saying "there was no need to establish a regional development board as there already existed district development boards". The function was organized by Gulchain Singh Charak.
In 2008, the JKPCC promised regional council. It was part of the Congress' election manifesto, which was released by none other than JKPCC chief Saif-ud-Din Soz, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and in-charge of Congress affairs and the then Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Prithavi Raj Chavan, now Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The manifesto said that "the Congress, if returned to power, shall amend the state constitution, federalize the state polity and establish regional council for Jammu".
Both the Congress MPs were, and are, aware of what has been ailing the people of Jammu province since decades. In fact, they and those who won the assembly elections in 2002 (15) and in 2008 (13) had contested the elections in the name of the people of Jammu province. It is a different story that they did nothing whatsoever to mitigate the people's problems and empower them through a political instrument. As a matter of fact, it has become customary with the Jammu-based lawmakers to taunt the people of Jammu province by saying that the state government has been according equal treatment to the people of all the three regions.
Now that their counterparts in Telangana region have shown the way, it is time for the Jammu MPs to assert their position and do something concrete so that their party high command is compelled to honour what it committed. They and the Congress MLAs can play an important role provided they are willing to do what their counterparts in Telangana have decided to do to identify them with their constituency.
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