Telangana politicians to boycott AP celebrations

It’s Formation Day in Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. But in Andhra, Telangana leaders have decided to boycott the celebrations, even as the government promised a decision on statehood post-the festival of Eid. The Telangana Joint Action Committee and freedom fighters association have declared November 1 a ‘betrayal day’. The JAC have decided to wear black flags and badges. The freedom fighters association are likely to sit on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Tuesday under the leadership of veteran freedom fighter Konda Lakshman Bapuji. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu is also planning to launch a ‘Jan Chaitanya Yatra’, an awareness drive, across Andhra Pradesh.

This apart, in a first of its kind decision, the state government has asked the district collectors in Telangana to go ahead with flag-hoisting in sensitive locations where political leaders and ministers have a threat from protesters. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday had said that a decision on the Telangana issue would take place after the Eid-ul-Zuha festival. According to the Home Minister, Congress in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, had conveyed to different groups in the state that no movement was possible during the festival season. Azad’s report on Telangana following his talks with Congress MLAs and MPs is already with the party high-command. Eid is slated to be celebrated around November 7. The decision came a day after three Congress leaders from the region quit the party and were expected to join the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi (TRS).

T Rajaiah from Station Ghanpur in Warangal district, Jupally Krishna Rao of Kollapur in Mahabubnagar district and Somarapu Satyanarayana from Ramagundam in Karimnagar district joined the TRS in the presence of party president K Chandrasekhar Rao. Satyanarayana, an independent MLA, was an associate member of Congress in the Andhra Pradesh assembly. The three have already submitted resignations from their posts in support of the separate statehood demand. “The very purpose of resigning from Congress is to build pressure on the Congress high command and also on the ministers and MLAs of Congress from Telangana,” Krishna Rao said. He hit out at the state ministers from Telangana region for not quitting their posts.

Welcoming the MLAs into the party fold, Chandrasekhar Rao said many more leaders were likely to join TRS. “I am warning Prime Minister and also Sonia Gandhi. Not just these three MLAs, many others are ready to join the agitation, from all parties. Given the present strength of agitation, other parties will not have livelihood. If you want to safeguard your existence, keep the promise you made on December 9, 2009 (of forming separate Telangana),” he said.

Claiming that leaders from non-Telangana regions of all parties had united and submitted resignations to stall the formation of Telangana after the Centre’s announcement, the TRS president asked Telangana Congress leaders to join the agitation without further delay. Dismissing the alleged rumour campaign by TDP leaders that TRS would eventually merge with Congress, he said the opposite appeared to be happening now. “TRS would not merge with any party. TRS will emerge as the dominant political force in Telangana by winning all seats here and obtain separate state by dictating terms to Delhi,” he said.
Training guns on Telugu Desam Chief N Chandrababu Naidu, he said Naidu should move a no-confidence motion against the Congress government in the winter session of Assembly if he was sincere about fighting Congress.

The three MLAs said they were joining TRS with the belief that Telangana state could be achieved by participating in the agitation led by Chandrasekhar Rao. The three Congress MLAs joining TRS is the latest in the switching of sides, against the backdrop of Telangana agitation. Earlier, TDP MLA Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy had joined TRS. He recently won the bypoll from Banswada. Another TDP MLA Gampa Govardhan too had joined TRS. The strength of Congress in the 294-member Assembly was 155, and after 17 MLAs of Praja Rajyam joined it, it rose to 172. With the resignation of the three MLAs, it has now fallen to 169. Reacting to the resignation of the three MLAs from the party, Andhra Pradesh Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana said the thinking that resignations would yield a separate Telangana was not correct.

“They might have done this for personal or political benefits. But it would not be correct to think that resignations would lead to the formation of separate Telangana,” he said.

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