Hyderabad: AICC general secretary Divgijay Singh was in Hyderabad to strike a deal with chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and, if sources are to be believed, was successful in doing so.
As per the understanding that the Congress high command and the CM are said to have arrived at, Kiran Kumar Reddy will ensure the successful passage of the draft Telangana bill in the state assembly.
In return, he will be allowed to stay on as chief minister of either united Andhra Pradesh (before bifurcation) or residuary AP till the 2014 elections. Publicly, however, there will be no let up on the staunch united state stance of the CM.
By this arrangement, the Congress high command also hopes to keep Kiran and a few of his loyalists, who are threatening to float their own party, in the Congress ranks.
“Digvijay came to Hyderabad on the day the Union home ministry sent the Telangana bill to the state only for this purpose – persuade the belligerent and anti-Telangana CM to push for the bill in return for his continuance. And that has happened,” said the sources.
After having sounded Kiran of such a proposal from Delhi, the AICC functionary made it a point to call the CM on Thursday afternoon.
“Digvijay told Kiran to call on him at 3.45 pm. However, an eager CM said he would come right away. Thus the meeting between the two took place at 2 pm on Thursday at the Lake View Guest House and lasted 45 minutes,” the sources claimed.
The quid pro quo between the two entailed that Kiran will ensure the Telangana bill is debated and cleared by the state assembly within the 42 days stipulated by President Pranab Mukherjee.
“However, the passage of the bill will not be easy as a lot of issues need to be debated. But it will be cleared finally,” is what Kiran is believed to have assured Digvijay.
In return, the Congress high command is to allow him to continue with his strong public stance of keeping the state united, and retain him as the CM of either united or residuary AP till the 2014 elections.
“The party is okay with Kiran’s staunch Seemandhra stance as it is helping to keep several leaders from the region in the Congress fold,” the sources said.
After the deal was struck on Thursday, Digvijay is believed to have undertaken a mission to make matters smooth for Kiran.
“In his meetings with the state party leaders later in the day, Digvijay told a couple of Seemandhra leaders who had issued statements against the CM after his public meeting in Vijayawada on December 7 to stop their public campaign against Kiran, while the Telangana party leaders were told to cut down on their criticism of the CM,” said a leader.
Before Digvijay left the city, a second one-on-one meeting took place between the AICC point man and Kiran at PCC chief Botsa’s residence on Friday .
“It is a done deal. one has to see how the two parties execute it ,” said sources.
Source: TimesOfIndia
