Chenna Reddy presented a new list of demands and they were:
• Remove CM Brahmananda Reddy.
• Depending on the performance of the Telangana region over
time, give Telangana legislators the power to make a decision on
the separate state.
• Create a separate Pradesh Congress Committee for Telangana.
• Ensure that the Telangana Regional Council is effective..
• Eliminate the regional disparities existing between Telangana and
the other regions.
Quintessential politician Indira Gandhi took full advantage of the
quandary that TPS was in. She knew well that TPS was eager to merge
with the Congress Party before the upcoming state assembly elections. She
fulfilled one demand and one demand only. She agreed to the demand most
important to Chenna Reddy and the easiest one for her to fulfill—removing
CM Brahmananda Reddy from his seat. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi called
CM Brahmananda Reddy to Delhi and asked him to resign in the interest of
the state’s well-being. He obliged.
Chenna Reddy congratulated Brahmananda Reddy for making the right
decision and thanked the PM for making it happen. Chenna Reddy said that
he hoped that the PM would act equally quickly on the rest of the demands.
As it turned out, that was the first and the last demand of Chenna Reddy that
Indira Gandhi would ever accept.
A day after Chief Minister Brahmananda Reddy announced his
resignation, Mrs. Gandhi called Chenna Reddy back to Delhi for talks. PM
Gandhi and Chenna Reddy spent two days behind closed doors in marathon
discussions. We might never know what kind of give-and-take political
agreements were made in those meetings. Obviously, the bargaining was for
political seats, particularly for MLA tickets and ministries.
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