Bandh demanding statehood for Telangana, protests on streets and shutdown in the state is what Andhra has been witnessing for years now. But what is it that makes Tuesday's agitation different? Vicky Nanjappa analyses
Vicky Nanjappa analyses the options before the United Progressive Alliance to save its government in Andhra Pradesh and amicably resolve the Telangana statehood demand
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.
Seeking to mount pressure on the Centre towards accepting the demand for separate statehood, Telangana Congress members of Parliament on Saturday threatened to join the ongoing agitation and go on an indefinite fast.
As the Centre grapples with the Telangana crisis, Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan on Saturday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is understood to have briefed him about the situation in the agitation-hit region.
The ongoing 'struggle' for Telangana has sparked a turf war within the main political parties in Andhra Pradesh. Unmindful of whether or not they reach the ultimate goal of securing statehood for the region, everyone involved in this turf war wants to score brownie points and emerge the 'champion', or at least be seen as one, in the larger political game of one-upmanship.
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.
Train services across Telangana region were paralysed on Tuesday as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Telugu Desam Party, Bharatiya Janata Party workers along with other Telangana supporters began a dawn-to-dusk 'rail roko' agitation in support of the separate statehood demand.
Pro-Telangana students of Osmania University on Tuesday clashed with police who lobbed teargas shells to prevent them from taking out a rally in support of the separate statehood demand, sparking tension in the university campus.
Pro-Telangana students of Osmania University on Monday clashed with police who lobbed teargas shells to prevent them from taking out a rally in support of the separate statehood demand, sparking tension in the university campus.
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.
Though the TDP does not have enough numbers to pull down the Congress Government, its objective in moving the no-trust motion appears to be part of its strategy to regain the lost ground, particularly in the wake of the Telangana statehood struggle, and also "expose" YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, political observers feel.
His statement comes two days after the Congress Working Committee deplored the manner in which the government stripped J&K of its special status by scrapping provisions of Article 370, and bifurcated the state.
Even as the United Progressive Alliance government in the Centre is finding it hard to find an amicable solution to the raging Telangana statehood movement in the South, the Bodo tribe community in Northeast has revived its long-standing demand for a separate state to be carved out of the state of Assam. K Anurag reports.
Over 300 eminent personalities from the creative and scholarly community of India, including actor Naseeruddin Shah, filmmaker Mira Nair, vocalist TM Krishna, author Amitav Ghosh and historian Romila Thapar have expressed solidarity with the students and others protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens. Writers Anita Desai, Kiran Desai, actors Ratna Patak Shah, Jaaved Jafferi, Nandita Das, Lillete Dubey, sociologist Ashis Nandy, activists Sohail Hashmi and Shabnam Hashmi were also among the signatories.
Claude Arpi meets General J J Singh, former Army Chief and today the governor of Arunachal Pradesh, who spells out the priorities and his vision for this border state. The governor also revisits the 1962 war and shares his perceptions for the future.
Political parties of all hues, including the ruling Congress, Telugu Desam Party and Bharatiya Janata Party in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday welcomed the Centre's decision to repeal a clause in a 1975 Presidential Order for the benefit of Telangana, while the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and student groups said they would continue their campaign till the orders are issued officially.
In an embarrassment to the Congress, 10 party members of Parliament from Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh, who have tendered their resignation on the separate statehood issue, on Monday stayed away from Parliament on the opening day of the monsoon session.
BJP's total silence on Delhi statehood is intriguing.
Vicky Nanjappa speaks to experts and points out six reasons behind the Congress's dismal show in Telangana, although at one point it was expected that the grand old party will be electorally rewarded after it passed the bill for the new state in Parliament.
Playing up the Telangana issue, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Wednesday accused the United Progressive Alliance government of going back on its promise and dragging the region into misery and asked it to shun its "indecisiveness" to make the statehood dream a reality by New Year
Parakala Prabhakar, spokesperson of the Visalandhra Mahasabha, tells Aditi Phadnis that those in favour of a separate state need not be the well-wishers of Telangana.
Telangana Congress members of Parliament on Friday asserted that they would participate in the 'rail roko' scheduled to be held in the region for three days from on Saturday in support of the separate statehood demand, despite appeals from the party not to do so.
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.
The Union Cabinet will meet on Thursday to discuss the Telangana crisis in detail and the government is expected to announce a time-bound programme for the formation of a separate state, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
The Justice Srikrishna Committee report has recommended in a "secret" supplementary note steps the Centre should take to keep the Telangana statehood issue under check in Andhra Pradesh.
Grappling with the Telangana issue, Congress General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday met party chief Sonia Gandhi amid reports that an all-party meeting would be convened to find a way out to the statehood demand.
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.
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and is understood to have submitted a report on his consultations with party lawmakers from Andhra Pradesh on the Telangana issue, amid mounting pressure for an "early decision" on the statehood demand.
Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh on Friday demanded the Centre immediately take a decision "either way" on the contentious Telangana issue and end the uncertainty facing the state. They accused Congress of keeping Andhra Pradesh on the boil and paralyzing normal life for over a year and a half now.
"The show will go on. And this time around, it would be with more resolve. We are extremely sad today that a leader has gone, but let the government be assured that the movement is very much alive and that we shall fulfil our dream very soon," say supporters of Professor Kothapalli Jayashankar, who passed away on Tuesday.
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.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Friday handed over a landmark request to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon seeking a full United Nations membership for a Palestinian state.
The Telangana issue assumed centre stage on Thursday night as Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily held consultations with Congress members of Legislative Assembly and members of Parliament. Though a lot of hope was pinned by the Telangana leaders on this meeting there was absolutely no decision taken on issue of statehood, say insiders. However, the mass resignation programme by these elected representatives will be put on hold till the assembly elections in five states.
New Andha Pradesh Congress Committee president and state's transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana, whose appointment has created a stir in the party, has said that there was nothing wrong if Andhra Pradesh was divided into two to fulfil the demand of Telangana people for statehood.
Earlier, TRS and TDP MLAs disrupted Governor ESL Narasimhan's speech on the opening day of the assembly's Budget session. They tried to tear his speech copy and climbed on the podium.
Demanding that the Telugu Desam Party take a clear stand on the separate statehood issue, the Telangana political Joint Action Commitee on Wednesday appealed to the people not to cooperate with the TDP for a public meeting proposed at Karimnagar.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, Congress leader Uttam Kumar Reddy, CPI-M state secretary B Raghavalu, PRP leader C Ramachandraiah were among those who are attending the meeting during which Chidambaram will handed over the Justice B N Srikrishna Committee report on the Telangana statehood demand.
The Telangana Rashtriya Samiti, spearheading the Telangana statehood movement, rejected a fresh appeal by Home Minister P Chidambaram to participate in Thursday's meeting to discuss the Justice Srikrishna report, even as Congress held hectic parleys with its leaders from Andhra Pradesh on ways to deal with the situation.
Congress lawmakers from Telangana region on Monday protested before party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad against the Andhra Pradesh assembly speaker's move to reject resignations of MLAs over the statehood demand.
