Governor meets Sonia on Telangana

With expectations of an announcement on Telangana at their lowest ebb in the wake of the Trinamool Congress ultimatum to the UPA government, governor E S L Narasimhan called on Sonia Gandhi in Delhi Thursday.

He is understood to have discussed with the Congress president the upcoming Ganesh nimajjan, the Telangana March and the Biodiverstiy Conference, all coming in quick succession from Sept 29 to Oct 1. As there is a likelihood of the Telangana March turning violent which may in turn affect the Biodiverstiy Conference, the governor is understood to have discussed the need to assuage the feelings of Telangana people so that they do nothing to damage the image of the country while foreign delegates are here.

The governor was coy about what he did in Delhi. Asked what he discussed with Sonia Gandhi, he smiled. Asked whether there would be a decision on Telangana, he said he did not know. 

And he said he did not call on the Prime Minister but only went to his office. He said he hoped that the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) would defer the Telangana March scheduled for Sept 30 in view of the Biodiversity Conference beginning on Oct 1.

Before the governor left for Delhi, TJAC chairman M Kodandaram led a delegation to him, urging him to intercede in Delhi to bring about an announcement on Telangana. The governor gave no commitment, and instead asked Kodandaram whether the TJAC was willing to postpone the Telangana March. This time, the professor gave no commitment. TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao continues to be in Delhi, waiting by the telephone and reportedly signalling his willingness to merge his party with the Congress in return for Telangana. He has met Vayalar Ravi a couple of times but has been upstaged by the goings on on the Mamata Banejree front.

Narasimhan will be in Delhi on Saturday too and is expected to meet home minister Sushilkumar Shinde. On Sunday, chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy will be in Delhi for consultations with the high command obviously on the Telangana issue and some intra-party affairs.