The bandh called by Telangana Rashtra Samithi against a reported proposal by the Group of Ministers, appointed to chalk the road map for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, to merge two districts of with the proposed state has hit normal life in the region.
Anti-Telangana protests continued in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions of Andhra Pradesh for the seventh consecutive day on Tuesday even as mild tension prevailed at two government offices in Hyderabad over the separate Telangana statehood issue.
Andhra Pradesh capital Hyderabad on Friday resembled a fortress with 10,000 policemen from the state and 2000 Central paramilitary force personnel deployed in view of the 'Chalo Assembly' protest called by pro-Telangana parties that began this morning.
The state of Andhra Pradesh is already going through a messy phase and things are all set to deteriorate in the coming days.
The Centre's failure to arrive on a decision on Telangana has angered people looking forward to the creation of the new state. Vicky Nanjappa talks to leaders of the major parties leading the pro-Telangana campaign to guage their reactions
The Union government will soon take a final decision on the demand to create a separate state of Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Dr Parakala Prabhakar, general secretary of the Visalandhra Mahasabha, says that if Telangana activists deliberately distorted the facts to advance their partisan agenda, the book will call their bluff.
Notwithstanding pressure from pro-Telangana groups, the Centre may not take any decision on the demand for a separate state during the ongoing budget session of Parliament, which will continue till May 10. A government functionary said internal consultations within the government and the Congress Party have been going on and so a decision during the budget session is not likely.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi Member of Legislative Assembly K T Rama Rao and other leaders and activists of different pro-Telangana organisations were on Sunday taken in custody when they attempted to participate in the Samara Deeksha protest at Indira Park in Hyderabad.
The situation in Hyderabad is tense ahead of the Telangana march even as six leaders from the ruling Congress have been taken into preventive custody.
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.
Making a strong pitch for separate Telangana, Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar on told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that a delay in the matter would not be helpful.
After their suspension from Lok Sabha for obstructing proceedings, eight Congress members of Parliament on Thursday protested by blocking Parliament's main gate for 30 minutes and raised pro-Telangana slogans.
A much delayed bill which provides for a mechanism for investigation against judges was passed in the Lok Sabha amid din created by pro-Telangana members.
Mouli, a student from Warrangal, Andhra Pradesh, immolated himself on Monday morning to demand a separate state of Telangana. This is the second incident of a student committing suicide in less than 50 hours. B Nayak, a MBA student from Warrangal, committed suicide near the collector's residence on Sunday. Instances of suicides in Telangana region had come down drastically in the last couple of months.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's opposition to the formation of Telangana is no secret. During his deliberations with the Congress high command in New Delhi on Tuesday, he had made it clear that he was not in favor of the formation of Telangana, and he is capable of handling the situation in the wake of pro-Telangana protests. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
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 here on Friday.
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.
Pro-Telangana activists launched a massive agitation in the region on Tuesday, wherein they replaced all boards, hoardings and posters that read Andhra Pradesh with those that read Telangana Rasthram.
Stepping up pressure on the Centre, Congress lawmakers from non-Telangana regions on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that the government should not bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, but were counselled patience by him
Even as pro-Telangana students are preparing to launch an indefinite hunger strike from July 11 at the Osmania University in Hyderabad, to press for Telangana statehood demand, police on Saturday denied permission to it.
Governmentt decides to act tough as 'rail roko' agitation in Telangana entres second day. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Several pro-Telangana leaders, including elected representatives of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the ruling Congress, were taken into custody on Saturday as the three-day 'rail roko' agitation began in the region to press for their demand for a separate state. Among those taken into preventive custody were Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhar Rao's son and Member of Legislative Assembly K T Rama Rao and his daughter K Kavitha.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday said that the Centre would soon resolve the Telangana statehood issue in an "amicable" manner that would "satisfy the aspirations of the people" of the state as the strike in support of the demand entered the 27th day. Grappling with the pro-Telangana agitation, Reddy rushed to the capital along with his deputy Damodar Rajanarasimha and held consultations with senior Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, A K Antony.
The pro-Telangana agitation should be continued with full steam to make the Centre accept the separate statehood demand in a few months from now, Telangana Rashtra Samithi President K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Thursday. "Unity is our strength. We will definitely achieve Telangana. Delhi must climb down and give Telangana in a month or two," he asserted.
The battle for a separate state is expected to get uglier in Andhra Pradesh with pro-Telangana activists planning a power shutdown in Hyderabad next week. The Telangana Rastriya Samithi, which is leading the agitation, has been meeting with electricity board officials to plan the shutdown. There will be a power cut in Hyderabad next week onwards. This is one of the many protests before a rail roko movement starts from September 24.
Telangana supporters including Andhra Pradesh government employees in the region on Thursday began an indefinite strike in support of the separate statehood, with rallies, road blockades and sit-ins organised to press or their demands.
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.
If smaller states are formed on the principles of 'self-determination', it could result in unstable states.
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.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, the political face of the pro-Telangana movement, and his supporters held the sit-in and 'observed silence' at Rajghat for a few hours on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti to highlight the "grave situation" in Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh.
The Congress Core Committee met in New Delhi on Friday to deliberate on the delicate Telangana issue on which party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad submitted a report amid indications that a decision on it will take some more time. Amid mounting pressure from pro-Telangana groups whose agitation for a separate state continued for the 18th day on Friday, Congress' top brass, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi, met in Delhi.
In a significant development in the separate Telangana state agitation, the Clause 14 (f) of the 1975 Presidential Order, which had made Hyderabad a free zone for employment, was deleted on Friday.
With the supporters of separate Telangana state hell bent upon their Million March program on Thursday, Hyderabad city has been effectively cut off from the other parts of Telangana as the police have sealed all the entry and exit points and was on the spree of rounding up thousands of people to foil their protest programme.
With no decision on the Telangana issue yet, activists fighting for separate state have decided to take a more aggressive stand.
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.
Another day of consultations on the Telangana issue and yet no decision. However, the mood in the region is upbeat and each one thinks that the Congress has buckled and would give out a positive announcement soon, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Tension flared up across Andhra Pradesh on Saturday as pro Telangana students of Osmania University in Hyderabad assaulted a group of teachers from Andhra and Rayala Seema regions, who had come to evaluate B.Ed papers.
Activists have divided themselves into teams and positioned themselves in front of the houses of each and every Telugu Desam Party and Congress MLA and MP.
The protests at the Osmania University, which has been the nerve centre of the movement, have intensified and two buses have been burnt down despite heavy police presence. Protests were also witnessed at the Dharna Chowk locality in Hyderabad.
The activists seeking a separate Telangana state call it a final assault. They say that this time around they would not stop until their demands are met.
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