Gorkhaland-like autonomy on anvil for Telangana?

HYDERABAD: The Congress high command plans to offer the Gorkhaland model of autonomy for Telangana, said an AICC source familiar with the issue here on Monday. AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad is likely to propose this when Telangana Congress MPs meet him in two weeks.

The Gorkhaland model includes the formation of a council with wide-ranging powers and a big financial package. It's also similar to the sixth option recommended on December 31, 2010 by the Srikrishna committee set up by the Centre to look into the demand for Telangana.

The committee had suggested statutory safeguards for Telangana including a Telangana Regional Council, strengthening of Gentlemen's Agreement of 1956, and the provision for coming out with an annual report card addressing the progress made on the implementation of various provisions guaranteed under the new agreement.

Although Congress had earlier promised statehood for Telangana, the party now appears to be involved in a U-turn, something that could bring the activists back to the streets. The source said neither the UPA government nor Congress president Sonia Gandhi favours division of Andhra Pradesh. This was conveyed to Congress leaders from Telangana during their meetings with Central leaders.

"It's Sonia's intent that the Darjeeling model be offered for Telangana and Azad has been told to roll out this offer in his meeting with Congress MPs from Telangana," said one Telangana Congress leader. Union minister Jaipal Reddy, too, indicated last weekend there would be no Telangana when he stressed Congress was against regionalism and sub-regionalism.

Predictably, there's opposition from Congress leaders from Telangana to the proposal. "There's nothing in common between Darjeeling and Telangana. The demand for separate Telangana has already been accepted by the first States' Reorganisation Commission (SRC). The need for a separate state was accepted by the UPA government and incorporated in the presidential address to joint session of Parliament four years ago," said Congress MP from Telangana region, K Keshava Rao.

Telangana activists, too, said that all options have been experimented with and the only choice left is separate state. "This was acknowledged by Home Minister P Chidambaram. If Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, AICC general secretary Azad or anyone else proposes the Darjeeling model, we will reject it," said another senior T Congressman.

However, at a time when Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC), Congress MPs and MLAs from the region and several other forces supporting separate state are preparing to intensify their agitation, the Darjeeling model may not find many takers among them. But AICC sources claimed that the party high command has evolved a formula to make even the TRS come around to accepting the Darjeeling model. However this is an exaggerated expectation. 
TOI