Telangana on the boil once again

The contentious Telangana statehood issue has reached a flash point and the Congress high command has realised that it is high time it takes a concrete decision on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, otherwise it would cause irreparable damage to the party’s prospects in the state.

Going by the mood of the Congress leaders from Telangana, who were in New Delhi two weeks ago to make the last ditch attempt to get a positive assurance from the high command on the Telangana front, it is unlikely that the Centre would agree for the bifurcation of the state.

It is being speculated that the Centre might consider the constitution of Telangana Regional Council – which was suggested by the Justice Srikrishna Committee as the best option in its report.

The Centre might propose the establishment of the council with adequate constitutional safeguards for Telangana for a two-year period and if it does not resolve the problems confronting the region, the separate statehood demand could be considered.

The appointment of a deputy chief minister from Telangana, which is one of the constitutional safeguards, is being viewed as an indication of the Centre’s strategy to implement the Srikrishna Committee’s recommendations in letter and spirit.

Interestingly, the committee has also predicted that there would definitely be large scale violence in the Telangana region if the separate statehood demand is not conceded.

And in Chapter VIII of the report, which was submitted separately in a sealed cover to the Union home ministry, the committee also suggested the measures for crushing a violent agitation.

True to this recommendation, the Central paramilitary forces have started arriving in large numbers. While 55 paramilitary companies arrived last week and another 50 companies are expected this week. Altogether, the Centre and the Andhra government are planning to deploy 120 companies (1.2 lakh police personnel) across the state, mostly in the Telangana region. The intelligence department has also warned that the Telangana movement is likely to be more violent this time than it was in the past.

However, Congress leaders from Telangana remain tightlipped over the regional council speculations. “We are still keeping our fingers crossed. We made our best efforts to convince the party leadership on statehood for Telangana. If it does not take a favourable decision, we will chalk out our plan of action,” a senior Telangana Congress leader said.

The Telangana political joint action committee (JAC) is making its own preparations to intensify the agitation in the coming days.

“There are clear indications that the Centre is not willing to form a separate Telangana state. The arrival of additional central forces has confirmed our suspicions. And it is evident that the Telangana Congress leaders have failed to mount pressure on their government to take a decision on Telangana,” JAC chairman Prof Kodandaram said.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which is spearheading the agitation, is watching the developments cautiously.

“We are patiently waiting for the Centre’s announcement on Telangana. But if it fails us this time, the consequences will be disastrous,” TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao said.

Come what may, the state government is gearing up to crush the agitation at any cost.

Apparently, it has decided not to allow the repeat of the acts of violence that had taken place during the Telangana “million- march” that was held on March 10, when the agitated mob destroyed statues of Telugu icons on the tank bund and attacked vehicles belonging to the media and the police.

Source – India Today

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