Justice B N Srikrishna, the head of five member consultative committee on the Telangana state issue, has said that the committee was keen to understand the ground reality and take the opinions of the ordinary people on the Telangana issue.
The constitution of a committee by the Centre to explore the feasibility of "one nation, one election" has opened up the possibility of Lok Sabha polls being advanced so that they could be held with a string of state assembly polls.
However, finding the funds to fulfill them will be a herculean task.
Kicking off its consultation process over two months after it was constituted, the Justice B N Srikrishna Committee on Telangana on Friday heard a delegation led by Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhar Rao who strongly batted for a separate Telangana to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh.
The Centre may have set up a five-member committee on Telangana, but students who have been most vocal in their demand for a state feel the panel should only deal with select issues and not about the formation of the state.
The members of the Justice Srikrishna Committee must understand the enormity of the task at hand and the burden on their shoulders. The committee must adhere to the highest standards of professionalism if its final report is to be taken seriously and not be mocked and condemned by one section or the other. The people of Andhra Pradesh, including the advocates of a separate Telangana, owe it to themselves to allow the committee to function properly and complete its work.
Criticising the police for arresting an SUV driver and blaming him for the incident, the high court said, "Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater for entering into the basement."
The Congress is likely to make the Telangana issue a part of its manifesto in the forthcoming elections, reports Vicky Nanjappa
A couple of years ago when the Telangana movement was at its peak, there was much talk that its formation could lead to the rise of a Naxal movement. Many Telangana supporters dismissed this view, stating that this was just another ploy by the Union government to stall the formation of the state. Vicky Nanjappa reports
For the BJP, Telangana is a sunrise state in the South, while Karnataka is a southern success despite the ups and downs.
The Kamareddy constituency attracted attention ever since KCR announced his decision to contest from there and the contest hot up as Congress fielded Revanth Reddy to take him on.
Telangana Congress leaders have decided to defy party general secretary Veerappa Moily's diktat that they should withdraw from the Telangana Joint Action Committee.
As Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh remained shut on the second consecutive day in response to the 48-hour general strike call by the Telangana Joint Action Committee, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti has warned the Congress leaders of the region against any compromise with their central leaders.
The indefinite strike of the Telangana employees, officers, teachers and workers in support of a separate state has been postponed. The Telangana Joint Action Committee on Thursday decided to put it off by about four weeks in view of the holy months of Ramazan and Shravan.
The Telangana political Joint Action Committee (JAC), spearheading the separate Telangana agitation, on Wednesday demanded that a bill for formation of the separate state be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.
The Telangana Joint Action Committee, Telangana Rashtra Samithi and other pro-Telangana parties on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks that the Centre was trying to arrive at a consensus on Telangana issue.
Alleging that false cases are being foisted against those agitating for separate Telangana, the all-party Joint Action Committee, spearheading the agitation for a separate state, on Monday asked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah to withdraw all such cases.
Normal life was disrupted in the Telangana region on Monday due to a bandh called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee to protest police action against members of parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly during Saturday's rail roko.
After the non-cooperation agitation, pro-Telangana parties and groups would now observe a 48-hour bandh in the region from tomorrow to mount pressure on the Centre to introduce a bill in the Budget session of Parliament for formation of separate Telangana.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday said he is ready to hold talks with the Centre but will not accept any committee to look into the Telangana issue. "The Centre should immediately come forward and find a solution. We demand that it sticks to its earlier statement. We are not ready to accept any committees. Except wasting time, these committees serve no purpose," he said. "The patience of Telanagana people need not be tested unnecessarily," he said
Normal life in 10 districts of Telangana region, including Hyderabad, has come to a grinding halt due to the bandh called by an all-party joint action committee.
Ministers from Andhra and Rayalseema regions of Andhra Pradesh have invited the wrath of the votaries of Telangana by calling the Telangana movement 'anti national,' 'seditious' and a 'threat to the integrity of the nation.'
The Telangana Joint Action Committee has called for a bandh in Telangana region on Friday.
The Telangana Joint Action Committee has called for a bandh in Telangana region on Friday.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Even as the Congress claimed credit for the decision to form Telangana state, other parties on Tuesday gave mixed reactions with Bharatiya Janata Party claiming it would have formed the state during NDA rule but for opposition from a key ally while the Left cautioned that this may spur more such demands.
The 'chalo assembly' rally of the Telangana Students Joint Action Committee turned violent at several places in Hyderabad on Monday.
Thousands of migrants were stranded in places across the country since the lockdown was enforced on March 25, many even attempting to walk home.
Accusing the Congress and Telugu Desam Party leaders from Telangana of being insincere over their resignations in support of separate statehood demand, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and political Joint Action Committee on Wednesday announced an action plan to intensify the stir to make them quit and mount pressure on the Centre.
The bandh called by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Telangana Joint Action Committee and several other organisations brought normal life in the region to a grinding halt on Saturday. The bandh was called to protest Friday's firing on pro-Telangana activists who tried to stop the visit of Congress Member of Parliament from Kadapa YS Jaganmohan Reddy to Warangal district. Nearly five hundred pro-Telangana activists were arrested.
Initial reports reaching Hyderabad from the region indicate the Road Transport Corporation bus services were partially affected as protesters staged dharnas in front of depots in Telangana districts, including Hyderabad.
He said the people are looking for an alternative and the Congress' victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka elections are clear proof of this.
Normal life was badly affected in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh as the 48-hour bandh called by Telangana Joint Action Committee in support of their demand for early introduction of a bill for formation of a separate state, began on Tuesday.
The Telangana Joint Action Committee went ahead with its 'vanta varpu' or cook-and-eat agitation on the roads in Hyderabad on Sunday to press for a separate Telangana state.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the biggest Muslim political party in Andhra Pradesh has expressed serious reservations over the fate of the Muslim minority in case of the formation of Telangana state.
The seven point terms of reference of the Srikrishna Commission, announced on Friday, has evoked a negative response from the leaders of the pro-Telangana movement. The Union home ministry announced the terms of reference of the five-member committee and set a deadline of December 31. The ministry asked the committee to look in to the demands for a separate Telangana and for an undivided Andhra Pradesh.
With no respite in sight, the All India Congress Committee is planning on calling a meeting of all leaders from Andhra Pradesh to discuss the proposal to set up a Rayal-Telangana state.
The Joint Action Committee formed to spearhead the agitation for a separate Telangana, has removed the Telugu Desam Party from the body, saying it had gone against the committee's cause.
Although the Congress leadership and UPA has given its nod for Telangana, the road to the separate state is surely going to be a complicated one, reports Anita Katyal.
Normal life was badly affected as the day-long Hyderabad bandh called by the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee as part of the ongoing agitation for a separate state, began on Friday.
