Congress divided ahead of key Telangana meet

Congress leaders from Telangana are up in arms against the party high command's choice of four representatives for Tuesday's talks with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram as three of them were from Andhra and Rayala Seema region and known antagonists of a separate state.
 
Telangana leaders are bitter that the region will be under-represented in the crucial talks in the Congress delegation. Apart from Chief Minister K Rosaiah, the delegation includes state agriculture minister N Raghuveera Reddy from Rayala Seema and Kavuri Sambasiva Rao. State Congress president D Srinivas will be the only representative from Telangana.
 
A senior Congress legislator R Damodar Reddy, who has emerged as the spokesman of pro-Telangana group, said that the Congress delegation would have an overwhelming presence of anti-Telangana leaders and the party leadership should increase the representation from Telangana.
 
The Telangana leaders, including ministers, MPS and MLAs were going to meet in Hyderabad to discuss the issue of under representation to Telangana in the talks.  The issue also figured in the meeting of Telangana Congress legislators.
 
The composition of delegation was likely to further accentuate the regional differences in the Congress as many leaders from Telangana region have already come out against the chief minister, alleging that he was behaving like a leader of Andhra region and not as the chief minister of the state. Such a criticism has already earned the state minister for Information Technology Komatreddy Venkat Reddy a show-cause notice from the party high command.

Meanwhile Venkat Reddy said that he had received the show-cause notice today and will reply in a couple of days. Damodar Reddy, who said Venkat Reddy, will have complete support and backing of other Telangana leaders in the party said that they will decide how to reply to the show cause notice after going through the contents of the show cause notice.