How Congress is Planning to Solve T-issue

If highly placed sources are to be believed, here's how Congress is going to solve the burning Telangana issue. According to an AICC source, the Congress high command plans to offer the Gorkhaland model of autonomy for Telangana. AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad is likely to propose this when Telangana Congress MPs meet him in two weeks.

The Gorkhaland model includes the formation of a council with wide-ranging powers and a big financial package. It's also similar to the sixth option recommended on December 31, 2010 by the Srikrishna committee set up by the Centre to look into the demand for Telangana. The committee had suggested statutory safeguards for Telangana including a Telangana Regional Council, strengthening of Gentlemen's Agreement of 1956, and the provision for coming out with an annual report card addressing the progress made on the implementation of various provisions guaranteed under the new agreement.

The source said neither the UPA government nor Congress president Sonia Gandhi favours division of Andhra Pradesh. This was conveyed to Congress leaders from Telangana during their meetings with Central leaders. "It's Sonia's intent that the Darjeeling model be offered for Telangana and Azad has been told to roll out this offer in his meeting with Congress MPs from Telangana," said one Telangana Congress leader. Union minister Jaipal Reddy, too, indicated last weekend there would be no Telangana when he stressed Congress was against regionalism and sub-regionalism.

However, at a time when Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC), Congress MPs and MLAs from the region and several other forces supporting separate state are preparing to intensify their agitation, the Darjeeling model may not find many takers among them. But AICC sources claimed that the party high command has evolved a formula to make even the TRS come around to accepting the Darjeeling model.