Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has never clarified his stance on the Telangana issue, may have to reconsider his political agenda. On his return from Nizambad on Tuesday, he was greeted by pro-Telangana supporters, who waved black flags, pelted stones and burnt tyres to protest his visit. Members of the Joint Action Committee on Telangana told rediff.com that Jagan was not welcome in the region. The police, who were present in large numbers to protect Jagan's convoy, arrested 20.
In a bid to find a way out of the Telangana imbroglio, the Centre on Wednesday convened a meeting in New Delhi on January 5 of 8 recognised political parties in Andhra Pradesh for a discussion on the issue.
The Telangana Political Joint Action Committee on Friday postponed the `Rail-roko agitation, earlier scheduled for October 9 to 11, to October 12, 13 and 14.
The Osmania University Joint Action Committee for Telangana has set July 10 as deadline for the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre to announce the formation of the Telangana state.
Signalling a major change in its strategy in the fight for a separate state, the Telagnana Joint Action Committee has said that the all the future protests will be chalked out jointly by those who have resigned from their elected posts and the representatives of other Telangana organisations.
Even as dark shadows of a fresh intense agitation were looming large over Telangana region, students of as many as eight universities across the region have come together to take forward the movement for Telangana. A meeting of the representatives of the student community from the 8 universities has decided to form a new Telangana Universities Students Joint Action Committee to intensify the stir with out depending on the political parties or the leaders.
The Telangana political Joint Action Committee on Friday asked people in the region to boycott the Census, refrain from paying taxes and observe a shutdown as part of the non-cooperation agitation from February 17. The JAC has planned the agitation in support of its demand for early introduction of a bill for the formation of separate Telangana. The JAC would announce the details of the non-cooperation agitation in the villages on February 13 and hold rallies on February 14.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti supremo K Chandrashekhar Rao said that he will go on a hunger strike from February if until then the bill to form a separate Telangana state is not introduced in the Parliament. Rao's decision came at the Joint Action Committee meeting held in Hyderabad on Thursday night, hours after the Srikrishna Commission was made public.
Security is tightened and prohibitory orders are imposed in Hyderabad in view of Wednesday's 'Telangana bandh' called to press for statehood to the region.
The Osmania University Joint Action Committee on Telangana on Tuesday appealed to political parties in Andhra Pradesh to field relatives of people who died during the agitation for a separate state when the by-elections are held in over ten constituencies in the state.Manavat Rai, a member of the OU Joint Action Committee, said the parties should field relatives of the people, especially students, who have 'sacrificed their lives for the cause of a separate state'.
In the first incident of its kind, about 100 pro-Telangana agitators stormed the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad and disrupted the Deccan Twenty 20 match between Andhra and Hyderabad cricket teams on Thursday.
The 42-day-long strike by the government employees of Telangana region was withdrawn on Monday evening. About 45,000 employees, who had gone on an indefinite strike on September 13 in support of Telangana state, will be returning to work from Tuesday morning.
Students of Osmania University have decided to go ahead with their 'Vidhyarthy Garjana' (students' roar) rally on Sunday despite the Andhra Pradesh government refusing to permit the programme.
Rallies, hunger strikes and demonstrations continued in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh on Monday after the Joint Action Committee (JAC) intensified its agitation, mounting pressure on the Centre for a separate statehood.
The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet sub-committee on employees has decided to invite the Telangana Employees Joint Action Committee for talks on August 5 to resolve their pending grievances and avert a strike.
Grappling with the contentious Telangana issue, the Congress on Sunday indicated that the much-talked about mechanism on it was unlikely to be formed soon and urged partymen to withdraw from the Joint Action Committee agitating for the creation of a separate state, warning them of stern action for indiscipline. "The terms of reference are under preparation and not yet finalised," said Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, who is also in charge of party affairs in the state.
With the Road Transport Corporation buses already on strike since last six days, auto rickshaws also going on two day strike from Saturday, and petrol pumps shutting their doors the people in Telangana were left with out any means of travelling.
The Telangana Political Joint Action Committee has issued an ultimatum to the Centre, asking it to announce a clear cut time-frame for the formation of a separate state by Monday evening, failing which an indefinite bandh would be called from December 29. "We will wait till Monday evening for the Centre's announcement, failing which there will be an indefinite bandh in the entire region from Tuesday," Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhar Rao said.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday appealed to Telangana employees not to put common people to inconvenience and invited them for talks on Thursday to discuss the strike notice served by them.
The general strike called against the ongoing Telangana agitation in Andhra and Rayalseema region turned violent at many places on Monday. The bandh called by the all party Joint Action Committee in favour of united Andhra Pradesh hit the normal life in all the 13 districts of the two regions.
Seeking to mount pressure on the ruling Congress leaders, the Telangana political Joint Action Committee on Monday asked them to quit their posts and join the "strike by all sections of people" scheduled to start from next month.
The convenor of the Joint Action Committee spearheading the agitation for Telangana on Thursday warned the outfit might resort to non-cooperation movement if the Centre failed to meet its January 28 deadline for declaring a separate state.
Normal life was disrupted in non-Telangana regions of Andhra Pradesh, as the bandh called by the All-Party Joint Action Committee (JAC) in support of United Andhra Pradesh began on Monday.
Members of the Telangana movement's Joint Action Committee will soon embark on a journey to Egypt to pick up a few lessons on how to conduct a successful agitation. A massive rebellion in Egypt had ended the autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak and forced him to step down after decades of misrule.
The Srikrishna Committee on the Telangana issue has said it would wrap up consultations with key stakeholders by July this year and urged the Joint Action Council, which is spearheading the agitation for a separate state, not to boycott it. V K Duggal, member-secretary of the five-member Committee, who arrived in Hyderabad on Tuesday night to put in place the necessary infrastructure to start its work, said, "We will get enough material to give a balanced report".
The issue pertaining to the formation of a separate Telangana state is expected to heat up further with two major meetings scheduled for February 7.
The Andhra Pradesh government has asked chief secretary Pankaj Dwivedi to engage Telangana Employees Joint Action Committee leaders in talks to end the ongoing strike that entered the 31st day on Thursday.
The Congress which was snubbed by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi has decided to rope in members of the Telangana Joint Action Committee to fight the elections on their ticket.
Braving attacks by pro-Telangana elements, nearly one lakh employees from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions congregated in Hyderabad on Saturday for a rally, which gave the call to keep the state united.
The party, which was expecting to win at least three seats in the region this time, feels that the statements by senior leaders L K Advani and Sushma Swaraj on Thursday are counter-productive to their future plans. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Political Joint Action Committee chief Professor Kodanda Ram says that there is no way in which this agitation is going to stop.
Further deepening the current crisis in Andhra Pradesh over Telangana, political parties and organisation of students, teachers and intellectuals have formed a new Joint Action Committee to fight to preserve the unity of the state. The new body has called for a bandh on January 4.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi President K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday sought to douse the controversy over his remarks that state government employees from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra working in Telangana should go back to their respective regions, saying no one need go anywhere.
The Seemandhra Lawyers Joint Action Committee has requested the Andhra Cricket Association to cancel the November 24 India-West Indies ODI scheduled at Visakhapatnam, as it will "hurt feelings of crores of Samaikyandhra agitators fighting for a united AP."
Different employees' and workers' unions of the TSRTC began an indefinite strike on Friday midnight across Telangana on a call given by the Joint Action Committee of the corporation, demanding merger of the RTC with the government and recruitment to various posts, among other things.
It will now take at least two more years to get a clarity on the priorities and policies of the leadership of the new state of Telangana.
The TRS on Tuesday alleged that the Centre was being 'insensitive' in not bifurcating the high court so far.
The second day of the bandh call for Friday on the Telangana issue stands withdrawn in view of Christmas, a joint action committee of Telangana leaders has announced.
A series of protests continued in the Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh for the sixth consecutive day on Monday against the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance's decision to bifurcate the state for creation of Telangana.
The Andhra Pradesh Police on Tuesday stepped up security across the state saying they were well prepared to maintain law and order particularly in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in the wake of the decision to create separate Telangana.