Two Tails Wagging The Same Dog

The case of Telangana Congress MPs is exactly like the tail wagging the dog, not on one count but at least on two.

There are 12 Congress MPs elected to the Lok Sabha from Telangana region. Most of them are well qualified and extremely articulate and have their own rich experience in championing the Telangana cause.

It has been very surprising, if not funny, to find most of them latching on to a retired Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao, who enjoyed several political positions before the Congress bade adieu to him from all posts.

But KK, who is deft at  back office politics, arrogated leadership of the MPs to himself and speaks in the first person plural, as if he were an MP too.  One would surely exclaim at the ease with which KK talks about ‘our resignations’ as if he were to loose any job. What’s most interesting is he would not enter the fray in any direct election.

Having usurped the elderliness from the sitting MPs, KK ups the ante against the Congress high command on their behalf. Apart from upteenth occasion, KK, even on Thursday, asserted that seven MPs had put in their papers and submitted the same in No-10, Janpath. This former MP tried to put up a united face on behalf of the serving MPs and made an attempt to isolate Madhu Yaskhi Goud from the group.

Madhu Yaskhi had on Wednesday said there was no need for the MPs to resign and poured cold water on the enthusiasm of his peers. Angered by this, others, who were egged on by KK, dissociated themselves with Goud and asserted that they stuck to their guns.

KK is seen as a bridge between the Congress MPs and Telangana Rastra Samithi(TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao. At this stage that Madhu Yaskhi clarified that he was sailing with his peers and that his resignation too was there in the bunch submitted at the residence of the Congress president. While seven MPs who are vocal let the leadership of their flock be hijacked by KK the other five are either ministers or close to the powers that be — S Jaipal Reddy, Sarve Satyanarayana, and P Balaram Naik are ministers, Anjan Kumar Yadav and Suresh Shetkar play safe.

The numerically strong Congress MPs surprisingly chicken out when it comes to a political altercation with the TRS which has just two MPs. What the dozen of them cannot do is handled by the TRS with greater elan. Of the two, Vijaya Shanthi doesn’t take an aggressive posture on the Telangana demand but at the end of the day the TRS sets deadlines, throws tantrums and threatens the MPs with dire consequences and holds the control panel of the political movements of Congress MPs.

Ironically Rajya Sabha members like V Hanumantha Rao and Nandi Ellaiah and others don’t align with Telangana Congress MPs when it comes to resignations. They cleverly insulate themselves from the line of fire from any direction – be it public, the high command, the TRS or any irritant.

Welcoming of PCChako’s statement on Telangana, decision not to meet Vayalar Ravi and firmness on resignations on behalf of these seven MPs were announced by the retired Rajya Sabha member.

If the people are the main power switch,  The Congress high command is the service provider, KK is the remote control for the set top box and the TRS is the remote control for the TV on which the daily soap operas are unveiled.