Maintaining that the Centre had given him an assurance over formation of separate Telangana state after the Vice Presidential poll, Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday said if the demand is not met, the agitation for separate statehood would be stepped up.
A crucial meeting of the Telangana Rastra Samithi to decide the political future of Telangana will be held on Tuesday at Hyderabad. Sources say that the popular mood in the party is that they should not merge with the Congress. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Widespread protests, demonstrations, road blockades and rallies were held in several Telangana districts while Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) activists allegedly attacked Civil Supplies Department's godown and burnt vehicles in Mahabubnagar district.
Handed down by the Mahatma as a medium to peacefully protest for a cause, hunger strikes have, however, been used by many politicians for achieving individual and petty goals. Many leaders have been successful while some failed in getting their demands conceded, but fasting is still considered an effective weapon of protest in Indian polity.
Many parts of Telangana regions erupted into violence as the police foiled the attempt of Rao to go on a fast-unto-death by arresting him on Sunday.
"TRS welcomes the decision of the UP Chief Minister. It is a bold step. It is very good for democracy. She has also reiterated her support to the formation of Telangana. For her act of kindness, I thank her," TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao told media persons in Hyderabad before leaving for Delhi to attend the Parliament session.
KCR will continue as caretaker chief minister until the new government is formed.
Political analyst and former MLC Prof Nageshwar said that by frequently visiting the temple the BJP is trying to polarise votes which unfortunately MIM also wants.
The Hyderabad police have registered 16 cases against pro-Telangana activists, including Telangana Rashtra Samithi leaders K Chandrasekhar Rao, in connection with the violence during the 'Million March' on Thursday.
The next few days would, however, not witness much protests in the Telangana region.
EPS' real test will commence with a decision whether or not to patch up with OPS and on what terms -- and then, to decide whether or not to have the BJP for an electoral ally, come 2024, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
With the results pouring in for the five states, celebrations and distribution of sweets have also begun. The Congress wasted no time to start bursting firecrackers after early trends showed that the party was surging ahead in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Take a look at the festivities.
Family and friends say their last goodbyes to Nandamuri Harikrishna.
These measures are in addition to other proposals made earlier, including regulation of sale and consumption of liquor, free trips to certain religious places like Sabarimala and distribution of one lakh cows every year.
Stepping up its campaign, a group of political parties from Telangana has set an ultimatum for the Centre asking it to announce a time-frame by Monday for formation of the separate state, failing which an indefinite bandh would be enforced from December 29.
It is in no way a government of the economic Right. The Right is limited to religion and nationalism. The rest is as Left as the Congress or any other party, observes Shekhar Gupta.
After Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhara Rao's 11-day fast forced the United Progressive Alliance government to concede to his demand for a separate Telangana state, some angry Congress leaders from Andhra Pradesh have threatened to go on a fast-unto-death themselves, to make the Centre reconsider its decision.Congress Member of Parliament from Vijaywada Lagdapati Rajagopal has declared that he will sit on a fast-unto-death in front of the assembly.
By his astounding feat of forcing the government of India to bow before him and accept his demand for carving out a separate state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh, 55-year-old Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhara Rao has forced both his friends and enemies to sit up and take notice.
K T Rama Rao, son of Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhara Rao, said late on Wednesday that moving a resolution in Andhra Pradesh assembly for creation of separate Telangana state was not enough and asked the Centre to introduce a bill in Parliament for this.
Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu rang up Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, who took over as Telangana's first Chief Minister on Monday and invited the latter to his swearing-in ceremony as Andhra Pradesh CM on June 8.
Telangana and Rajasthan are the last states to go to the polls in the current round of assembly elections, which also covered Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhar Rao was on Sunday detained near Karimnagar ahead of his proposed fast unto death for separate Telangana.
In a development likely to add to the anxieties of the Andhra-Rayalaseema settlers in the Telangana region, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti President K Chandrashekhar Rao has said that the government employees of other regions working in Telangana will have to go back to their original places. "They will not have any other options," he said.
Earlier, KCR had met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as part of efforts to build a non-Congress, non-BJP third front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Even as the top leadership of the Congress party in New Delhi was busy in confabulations to find a way out of the mess in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, its state government seems to be inching for a confrontation with the agitators.
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.
Was a clash with Telagana Rashtra Samithi leader K Chandrashekhara Rao over the Medak Lok Sabha constituency the reason for Vijayashanthi leaving the TRS and joining the Congress? The actress-MP speaks to Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti founder president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday resigned from his post owning moral responsibility for his party's debacle in the recent bypolls in Andhra Pradesh. Rao, whose party failed to retain even half of the seats it had vacated, sent his resignation letter to the party general secretary T Madhusudhanchary.
Naidu, whose 150-day-long Mee Kosam Yatra entered the West Godavari district on Sunday night spoke to Rao for 15 minutes, well informed and reliable sources in the TDP said. Since Chandrasekhara Rao left the TDP in 2001 and launched the movement for Telangana and formed his own political party, it was first time that the two leaders spoke directly.
It is wrong to say the Congress doesn't matter. Certainly one set of people who do not believe that for a minute is the BJP. That's why even in his speech in Parliament on Constitution Day, Mr Modi called dynastic politics a threat to democracy, observes Shekhar Gupta.
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.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday said a 'civil war' might occur if the Sri Krishna Committee fails to grant separate statehood to Telangana.
Fisrt Look on TRS president's resignation from Lok Sabha.
BJP president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari were among those who addressed public meetings in different parts of the state on Sunday.
Confident that the Central government would not back out of creation of Telangana, Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader K Chandrashekhar Rao on Thursday said the Congress and the Centre needed some time to act on it.
'She is a daughter-in-law of Pakistan and this is not something that can be overlooked.' 'So many have contributed towards the Telangana cause and many have laid down their lives for the same. Why are their names not considered?' BJP leader Dr K Laxman defends himself in this exclusive interview with Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com
Is anyone in the BJP listening -- to what Nitin Gadkari had to say, but possibly left unsaid? asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
As the five states -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram -- go to the polls, here is how the big names are faring.
'Victory and defeat are an integral part of life. Today's results will further our resolve to serve people and work even harder for the development of India,' Modi said.