Telangana- Agitation, Politics or Denial?
Union home secretary G K Pillai hinted that Hyderabad will be the capital of Telangana, the proposed state to be cut out of the state of Andhra Pradesh. “Hyderabad, I think, will always be the capital of Telangana, Pillai stated at a press meet today.
This statement comes a day after atleast 130 MPs have threatened to resign in a protest against culling out the state of Telengana. “I’m sure that in the coming days, as people understand the real implication of what is meant, I think the agitation would die down and the process for formation of the new state would continue,” Pillai said.
Pillai’s remark has been termed “Provocative” by many.
The crisis has deepened as more and more political patriots deciding on resignations. The MPs led by K.Sambasiva Rao said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured them that no hasty decisions will be taken to bring into effect the new state. Rao said that “The prime minister has assured us that no hasty decision will be taken on this issue. He said the matter will be discussed in the Congress core committee meeting expected later Friday.”
L. Rajagaopal, a Congress MP, warned the government that he will start a fast if Telangana is ever designed out of AP. Out of the 130 MPs who have already submitted their resignations, 76 legislators belong to the ruling Congress, 40 of the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and 14 of the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP). They have all accused the UPA-led government of not consulting them when making decisions on Telangana. The Congress has a total of 156 legislators in State Assembly. Chief Minister K. Rosaiah although denied that the possibility of a minority position in the assembly if supporting legislators resign, but said that he received neither written nor oral directions from the central government to move a resolution in the assembly and pointed out that such resolutions can be passed only after consensus.
The proposed bifurcation of the state has already agitated the masses. People ran down on streets setting buses ablaze and robbing an HDFC bank. Protesters blocked national and state highways and stopped or delayed trains at various railway stations. Amidst this, the man who played it all, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K.Chandrasekhar Rao, whose 11-day hunger strike forced the government to agree to his demand for a Telangana state, got his discharge from the hospital where he was being attended to.
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