HYDERABAD: Despite several meetings and phone conversations with both chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and APCC president Botcha Satyanarayana throughout Saturday, Telangana Congress ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs asserted they would go ahead with their decision to quit their posts on July 4.MPs G Sukhender Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar and others said they would travel to Delhi on Sunday to submit their resignations to the Lok Sabha speaker on Monday.In a draft letter addressed to ‘Sir/Madam’, nine Congress MPs -- K Keshava Rao (Rajya Sabha), Prabhakar, Sukhender Reddy, M Jagannadham, S Rajaiah, G Vivekanand, P Balram Naik, Madhu Yashki, K Rajagopal Reddy -- said they would submit their resignations to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha at 11 am on Monday.Curiously, the names of four other Telangana Congress Lok Sabha MPs were missing from the draft: S Jaipal Reddy, Suresh Kumar Shetkar, Sarve Satyanarayana and Anjan Kumar Yadav. The 9 MPs said other Telangana Congress elected representatives -- MLAs and MLCs -- would also render their resignations at the same time Monday.In their comments to the media earlier in the day, Telangana Congress leaders said, “We will rethink our decision only if the Congress leadership and UPA government fulfils its promise on the Telangana issue. We will not bow to any pressure and will not compromise,” they said.The day started with a phone call from Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel to Keshava Rao and Prabhakar. Patel reportedly urged Telangana Congress leaders not to take a hasty decision.Meanwhile, Telangana ministers K Jana Reddy, B Saraiah, V Sunitha Laxma Reddy and R Venkata Reddy met Kiran Kumar Reddy at his camp office and explained their intention to resign. Later, along with ministers D K Aruna and P Sudershan Reddy, they met Satyanarayana at his residence in Ministers Colony. At both points of call, they were urged to think twice.Later, several Telangana ministers, MPs and MLAs -- K Jana Reddy, B Saraiah, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, D Sridhar Babu, K Keshava Rao, G Sukhender Reddy, G Vivek, Ponnam Prabhakar, K Rajagopal Reddy, M Jagannadham and others -- met Satyanarayana again at Gandhi Bhavan for more discussions. The APCC chief promised to put their case to the party high command and advised them to meet the Congress president before submitting resignations. “I asked them to reexamine their decision. They should maintain restraint because the Centre is expected to take a decision on the issue this month. It is not correct to say that Telangana Congress leaders are bowing to pressure from (TRS leader) K Chandrasekhar Rao. In reality, the issue is sensitive and crucial. A permanent solution is needed but resignation is not it,’’ he told media personnel. Satyanarayana hoped that the Centre will take a decision that is in accordance with the aspirations of eight crore people of the state.Earlier, Sunitha and Venkat Reddy said their only intention was to bring pressure on the Centre.
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