Hitting out at the ruling Congress for not coming out with a favourable decision on the separate Telangana demand, Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao Monday alleged that the Centre lacked even the basic concern for the people of the region.
A decision on the vexed issue of Telangana is expected before Monsoon session of Parliament which is likely to start after August 15.
Hyderabad is getting ready for yet another show of strength by the supporters of a separate Telangana state. Lakhs of people are expected to respond to a call given by the Telangana Joint Action Committee to attend the Sagara Haaram March on Sunday afternoon.
Demanding that Centre make an announcement of formation of Telangana state by June 25, the Telangana political Joint Action Committee on Thursday said the members of Parliament and members of legislative assembly of the ruling Congress and opposition Telugu Desam Party should resign if this did not happen.
Unwilling to accept Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurances, activists battling for a separate Telangana state have intensified their protests.
All Party Telangana Joint Action Committee has set the deadline of Monday evening for all the Members of Andhra Pradesh assembly of Telangana region to submit their resignations and quit the assembly in protest against the Srikrishna committee.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Telangana leaders of other parties are ready for "any sacrifices" if the terms of reference (TOR) of the Srikrishna Committee are not in their favour, TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao said today.
The counting of votes in Mizoram will take place on December 4, a day after it was originally scheduled, the Election Commission said on Friday.
Counting of votes will be held on Sunday in assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana in what is seen as a semi-final contest ahead of the general elections in less than six months.
In the midst of mounting pressure from both pro and anti-Telangana leaders, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ahead of the crucial United Progressive Alliance and Congress working committee meetings to take a final decision on the separate statehood issue.
Chidambaram appealed to political parties in Andhra Pradesh to read the recommendations of the Justice Srikrishna Committee on Telangana with an "open mind" and give "impartial consideration" to them.
Cracking the whip, the Congress on Tuesday expelled six Lok Sabha Members of Parliament from Andhra Pradesh who had opposed the creation of Telangana and had given a notice of no-confidence motion against the government.
In a bid to intensify their protest seeking statehood status for Telangana, the members of the Telangana Rastriya Samithi and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday picketed the offices of all the district collectors. Members of both the parties came out in huge numbers and gheraoed the offices of the district collector and also shouted slogans in favour of a separate state.
Telangana protagonists may claim Hyderabad as an integral part of their region but the statehood demand does not arouse the 'same intensity of emotions' among the residents of the metropolis unlike people in other areas in the region.
Security has been tightened across Hyderabad on the eve of the release of the Srikrishna Committee's report on the formation of a separate Telangana state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday, rejected the newly-formed expert group on Telangana "lock, stock and barrel", saying that it was a delaying tactic and a futile exercise as no time-frame or terms of reference had been spelt out for the committee by the government.
Andhra Pradesh's 57th formation day is being observed as a black day by the people of Telangana, who have been demanding a separate state. Black flags have been hoisted over all government offices in the Telangana region.
Long queues were seen at outpatient department ticket counters in government hospitals, where senior doctors joined their junior colleagues in the protest.
The latest statement by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram that the Centre would constitute a committee next week to examine the demand for Telangana state has left the all-party Joint Action Committee divided, with only Congress leaders from the region welcoming it.
TDP Telangana unit president Ramana said they favoured a 'grand alliance' for the elections in the interest of Telangana people.
The Congress has appointed observers to coordinate meetings of its legislature party in four states where assembly election results will be declared on Sunday.
In their dissent notes, the opposition members alleged that the inquiry process is a "farce" and a "proverbial kangaroo court".
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.
Prof. Kodanda Ram, chairman of the Joint Action Committee, is clear about its stand and says that there is no compromise formula that is available now.
Raising social security pension amounts, increasing financial assistance given under the 'Rythu Bandhu' investment support scheme for farmers and providing LPG cylinders at Rs 400 each are some of the promises made by the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti for the upcoming assembly elections in Telangana.
Two groups -- one for a separate state of Telangana and the other for a united Andhra Pradesh -- are holding meetings in New Delhi and Lucknow to urge the government to rule in its favour. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Seeking to buy time, the Congress high command appears to be toying with the idea of having a deputy chief minister and Pradesh Congress Committee chief in Andhra Pradesh from Telangana region amid a growing clamour for a separate state
Pressuring the legislators and Members of Parliament of Telangana region to resign in support of separate state, the Telangana Joint Action Committee on Friday assured all such representatives that they will be re-elected to their respective positions unanimously.
The Joint Action Committee on Telangana has decided to continue its protest at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and also meet President Pratibha Patil.
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Congress President Sonia Gandhi asked Telangana leaders to maintain "restraint, brotherhood and cordial relations" with people of Andhra and Rayalaseema regions as the process started for creation of a separate state.
Normal life in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh continued to remain affected for the second consecutive day on Suday due to the ongoing 36-hour 'rail roko' call given by the Telangana Joint Action Committee in support of their demand for separate statehood.
Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Hyderabad on Tueday, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Telangana Joint Action Committee leaders launched a stir over the Telangana statehood demand.
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.
The Telangana Joint Action Committee, comprising of all political parties and a large number of people's organisations has set a deadline of January 28 for the central government to announce a time-bound program for the formation of Telangana state.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Praja Rajyam Party clamouring to join hands with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti over the demand for a separate state, pressure is mounting on Congress president Sonia Gandhi to initiate steps to deal with the issue immediately. The growing unrest within the party, especially among the leaders of Telangana region, came to the fore on Sunday with Congress Working Committee member G Venkat Swamy openly supporting the demand for Telangana.
The row kicked up by the ministers of Andhra and Rayala Seema region, who called agitators demanding a separate Telangana state 'anti-national and seditious', intensified on Thursday with pro-Telangana leaders urging the state governor to dismiss these ministers from the cabinet. A delegation of Telangana Rashtra Samiti and Telangana Joint Action Committee, headed by K Chandrasekhara Rao and Professor Kodanda Ram, met Governor ESL Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan.
Andhra Pradesh's opposition parties attacked ruling Congress for leaving a decision on Telangana statehood issue to the party's highest decision-making forum Congress Working Committee.
Dr Sangam Prithviraj Yadav, chief of the Students' Joint Action Committee for the Telangana movement, claims that the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, which has been at the forefront of the movement, is actually delaying the creation of a new state. In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, he explains why.
While the Congress is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Telangana by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Mizoram by the Mizo National Front.
Azad, the spokesperson of the Central Committee of the outlawed Communist Party of India - Maoist, said in a statement that a separate state of Telangana is an 'inalienable right' of the four crore people of the region. He called for a 'united militant mass struggle' against the 'fascist Congress regime' and the 'betrayers in various political garbs to achieve' a separate Telangana. The Maoist leader also slammed the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, saying it wasted five years.
