Is Andhra looking at President's rule?

With several leaders from the Seema-Andhra region waiting to defeat the Telangana resolution in the state assembly, the Congress is exploring the possibility of imposing the President's rule in the state.

After holding discussions with the President, it was decided that if they are unable to pacify the leaders of Seema-Andhra then they would impose President's rule and pass the Bill in Parliament.

Sources in the Congress party tell rediff.com that the first option would be to convince the Seema-Andhra leaders especially Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy to accept the decision and ensure that a positive opinion on Telangana is given in the assembly.

However, it is impossible that Reddy would agree to this. The other option would be to replace him, and if that too does not work out then the Congress would ensure that President's rule is imposed.

The Congress is adamant about its decision on Telangana.

Politically speaking, it is the most suited decision for them in Andhra Pradesh. However, the Congress would want to ensure that there is no embarrassment in the assembly regarding this issue.

Although the assembly’s decision is not fatal to the decision, precedent mandates that the opinion is taken before the bill is passed.‎ A Congress leader from Telangana says that at no cost does the high command want any opposition to the formation of the state.

"They in fact have started to speed up the process as they feel further delays are only disrupting peace in the region,” he adds.