File photo of Defence Minister A K Antony
The Congress has set up a four-member committee headed by Defence Minister A K Antony to hear the concerns among partymen on the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and create a separate Telangana state.
Congressmen from Seemandhra - as the two non-Telangana regions of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema are collectively known - are among those, both politicians and other citizens, who have been protesting against the Telangana decision for the last week since the announcement was made.
Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is part of the faction within the ruling Congress which is making last-ditch efforts to stop the division of Andhra Pradesh, had written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi two days ago, pleading, "Keep Andhra Pradesh united."
The letter was signed by the state Congress chief and top leaders from Seemandhra and had suggested that the process of creating Telangana, India's 29th state, should not begin before a committee formed by the party addressed the concerns of people from the coastal and Rayalaseema regions.
In Parliament, MPs from the region, across parties, have disrupted House proceedings. In Hyderabad, the Andhra Pradesh capital, the Chief Minister and many in his Council of Ministers have stayed away from office since last week, and sources say meetings and appointments at the state secretariat have been cancelled and files are piling up.
A majority of the 4,000 employees from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions are boycotting work and have threatened an indefinite strike from next week.
In the last week, over a 1,000 people have been taken into preventive custody in connection with the protests on the streets against the bifurcation, the police said; 221 persons have been arrested so far.
Government employees in Rayalaseema and Andhra have threatened to launch an indefinite strike from August 12, if the elected representatives from the two regions failed to stall bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
These employees fear that they would lose 25,000 jobs while over one lakh pensioners living in Hyderabad would face uncertain future. They also believe the division would also create problems for employees working in 40 public sector units in Hyderabad.