The Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy had to face an embarrassing situation in New Delhi on Friday when the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi shot down his request for reconsideration of the party’s decision on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Kiran was in the national capital to attend a meeting of the Congress Chief Ministers chaired by Rahul to discuss the challenges of governance, corruption, inflation and other issues ahead of the general elections.
Using the opportunity, Kiran spoke to Rahul about the Telangana issue. He sought to drive home the point that the division of the state would spell doom for all the three regions and sought reconsideration of the decision.
He also handed over a 25-page report to Rahul on the bifurcation decision and its fallout. He appealed to him to save the state and the party by keeping the state undivided.
However, Rahul, who is all set to be projected as the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate next month, made it clear that the decision cannot be reversed at this stage.
He said a final decision was already arrived at after considering all the points and the views of major political parties in the state.
Kiran had to return empty-handed once again, having failed to convince the party leadership about keeping the state united.
The Chief Minister did not stay back for the press conference. Rahul told the inquisitive reporters that Kiran has a family function back in Hyderabad and he left for the city before the press meet.
