The commotion at Lok Sabha over the Telangana issue on Tuesday has reflected badly on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
The Telangana Rastriya Samithi and other pro-state activists have decided not to celebrate until the bill is passed in Parliament. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Congress leaders from Telangana region will discuss the party's directive that they should "withdraw" from the all-party Telangana Joint Action Committee on Monday.
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Even though Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao have been sworn in as the new CMs, the allocation of IAS officers has not been finalised, owing to which files are not being passed. This has affected governance, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
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
Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami is to preside over a meeting in the North Block on Thursday with seven secretaries to discuss about the formation of Telangana.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah will be visiting New Delhi on Wednesday amid mounting pressure on the Congress to resolve the Telangana issue.
Normal life in 10 districts of Telangana region, including Hyderabad, has come to a grinding halt as the bandh called by an all-party joint action committee was total.
'There is ample evidence to suggest that attacks on the PM's probity and his connections with business houses do not resonate with voters.'
Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhar Rao and a delegation of the Telangana political Joint Action Committee on Friday left for Delhi to press for an early decision in favour of a separate Telangana state. The delegation will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other important leaders including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Rao told reporters. The BJP supports the demand for a separate Telangana state.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti and Telangana Joint Action Committee have set the tone for the indefinite mass strike from Tuesday with a massive show of strength in Karimnagar district.
The Union Cabinet is set to discuss the Group of Ministers' report on Telangana and also consider the Telangana Bill clause by clause.
Though the wily TRS supremo, credited with achieving the separate state of Telangana, stopped short of saying he was about to declare dissolution of the assembly, none doubted its imminence.
While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees.
The seven-point terms of reference of Sirkrishna committee announced by the central government has plunged Andhra Pradesh into a political uncertainty and pro-Telangana groups have given a call for strike in the region on Saturday.
Even as keenly awaited terms of reference of Justice B N Srikrishna commission on Telangana were likely to be announced in New Delhi on Thursday, tension was mounting in the region once again. Leaders and legislators of Telangana region are becoming restive day by day.
There are concerns within the Congress with respect to the articulation of the party's demand for the caste census, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently accusing the grand old party of attempting to divide Hindus through its push for the Other Backward Classes.
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.
Opposition parties on Thursday slammed the central government for not taking prompt action on Justice B N Srikrishna's recommendations on resolving the Telangana issue.
Stepping up pressure, Congress MPs from Telangana on Tuesday sought an "early decision" from the party high command on their demand for a separate state.
The Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee in Telangana has written to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi warning her party against using Muslims to suppress the Telangana movement. Furthermore, they state that stopping the march for Telangana could worsen the situation.
At a meeting in Hyderabad on Monday afternoon, pro-Telangana activists decided to impose a ban on all national TV channels with immediate effect in the region. These activists believe that these channels have downplayed their agitation for a separate state. The students Joint Action Committee had informed cable operators in the Telangana region about the proposed step. The operators have decided to issue a circular across entire Telangana region.
The Congress on Saturday released its election manifesto for Telangana, promising socially-inclusive growth with focus on jobs and social justice and a three-pronged approach for building the new state.
It was on December 9 exactly two years ago that the central government announced that the "process for carving out a separate state of Telangana" was being initiated but it has not moved a few steps beyond that.
The ties between the Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Joint Action Committee came under strain on Monday with the latter alleging that the main opposition party has an ambivalent stand on the statehood demand.
The credit for the creation of Telangana goes to those who laid down their lives for the state, activists tell Vicky Nanjappa
"So far about 300 people, included students, committed suicide for the cause of a separate Telangana state. Government of India never considered this. The Centre has clearly succumbed to the pressure exerted by the Andhra-Rayalaseema lobby," he alleged, adding, "It is a total betrayal of the people of Telangana. The terms of reference are totally immoral."
Though the terms of reference of the committee to look into the creation of a Telangana state may come in the next few days, the Congress is worried about the 'political' price it may have to pay for moving too fast on the statehood issue.
The United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre is for a consensus on demands for the creation of separate Telangana state and communications have been sent to all political parties, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Kolkata.
Experts recommend awaiting the findings of the 2021 Census, which is yet to be conducted, before introducing population control policies.
With the Congress all set to accept the long-pending demand for a separate state of Telangana, the matter is slated for discussion at the party's working committee meeting to be convened before the monsoon session commences on August 5
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 government rejected the contention on Friday that it has developed any second thoughts on the issue of Telangana, saying that the process with regard to its creation is underway and won't be affected by assembly elections in five states.
Telangana Congress MPs and other leaders on Wednesday thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for recommending the deletion of a controversial clause related to police recruitment, but decided to continue their boycott of official work for now.
The people of Telangana on Wednesday formed a 500 kilometers-long human chain all along the National Highway number 7 from Adilabad on the northern most tip of the region to Alampur on the borders of Kurnool district, to press their demand for a separate state.
The Home Minister said creating a new state normally takes a period of eight to nine months but the central government would try its best to do it as early as possible.
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 Union Cabinet on Thursday night gave the go-ahead for the creation of a 10-district Telangana and outlined the blueprint for carving out the country's 29th state from the current Andhra Pradesh.
Stepping in to defuse the Telangana crisis, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said he understands the separate statehood demand and gave an assurance that the Centre will make all efforts to find a solution to the contentious issue soon.
