Telangana Congressmen to hold satyagraha

HYDERABAD: Telangana Congress leaders decided on Monday to conduct Satyagraha at all the 493 mandal headquarters in the region between 10 am and 5 pm on July 20.The public representatives, who included ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs, also planned to organise a ‘flag festival’ by unveiling a Congress flag with Telangana map emblazoned on it at their respective places on July 26. Public meetings will also be held.The Congress public representatives, who resigned on July 4, held a meeting here which was attended by the party’s ZP chairpersons, MPTCs, ZPTCs, MPPs and hundreds of their followers from 10 districts in the region. They decided not to take back their resignations till the Centre made a statement in favour of Telangana. Minister and committee chairman K Jana Reddy urged the central Government to form Telangana as the 31st state. The minister cited Sudan, which was recently divided into two countries South and North Sudan after a referendum, as an example. South Sudan had sought separation. K Keshava Rao asserted that they would not take back their resignations till their goal was achieved.A majority of the leaders urged deputy chief minister C Damodar Rajanarsimha and deputy speaker M Bhatti Vikramarka to quit their posts and join the movement.Four ministers (Jana Reddy, B Saraiah, D Sridhar Babu, K Venkata Reddy), nine MPs (G Sukhender Reddy, P Prabhakar, M Jagannadham, S Rajaiah, G Vivek, K Rajagopal Reddy, P Balram Naik, Madhu Yashki Goud and K Keshava Rao), 14 MLAs and five MLCs attended the meeting.