Congress advises Telangana leaders to be patient

NEW DELHI: Caught in a bind over demands for carving out a separate state of Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh, the Congress Wednesday called for patience on the "emotive" issue."Gerrymandering the state boundaries is an emotive, sensitive issue. The only prescription that works in these circumstance is patience and patience. Given the sensitivity, stay engaged but stay patient," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters in response to a volley of questions on the party's stance towards renewed agitation in Telangana.The Congress leader said the demand for separate state was not new and has a historical context.Without directly mentioning resignations of legislators and MPs belonging to Telangana in support of their demand, Tewari said things should be seen in a wider perspective and "duty of every public representative is to serve the country first".Congress leaders informally said the party had limited area of manoeuverability as the demand for statehood had not found an endorsement in other regions of Andhra Pradesh.They said party has to move carefully as it has to be sure that any decision taken does not create a bigger impasse.They said while conceptually remaining committed to creation of new state, the party was keen for some kind of consensus to emerge.Party sources said that the Congress may get only a limited credit if a new state is created at this stage and its position would become vulnerable in other regions of the state.The Congress tally in Andhra Pradesh contributed handsomely to its performance in the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections.