Speaking at a meeting of the Secunderabad JAC meeting in Lalapet, Prof. Kodandaram congratulated BJP State president G Kishan Reddy for touring the districts for Telangana. He called upon Telangana protagonists to make the Nizam College public meeting in Hyderabad on February 11 a big success.

KCR assured the sriking doctors that TRS would extend complete support to their agitation.

He demanded that the state government should call for an all-party meeting immediately to discuss this issue.

In an exclusive interview, Kishan Reddy said that when NDA was in power at the Centre, the Telangana issue was not in their national agenda. Some excerpts of the interview:

Q: Considering your 13-day tour of Telangana, can you throw light on how the separate state could be achieved?

The BJP aimed to dispel the doubts among the people about the formation of separate Telangana.

The party was successful to certain extent in removing the doubts. We were able to explain the people that the Congress had failed to keep up its promise.

Q: Your party went to polls with the slogan `one vote – two states’ in the past. But why Telangana could not be carved out during the NDA regime at the Centre?

The state unit of our party made a resolution in favour of Telangana in 1998. However, our leaders at national level did not approve the resolution initially. Only after Rajnath Singh became party chief, the resolution was accepted in 2006. The issue was not in party’s national agenda when NDA was in power at the Centre. At present, separate Telangana issue has been included in the national agenda and our leaders at national level are also participating in the agitation for Telangana.

Q: While on one hand your party speaks in favour of small states’ formation and on the other keeping silent on further bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh. Why have you chosen an agitational path in case of Telangana?

The Telangana issue cannot be linked with the division issue of Uttar Pradesh. Those who link the two issues are traitors. Political parties play vote bank politics in UP whereas the agitation for separate Telangana has come from people. Any political party cannot question BJP for our stand on UP issue. We have already created Uttaranchal.

After getting the opinion from state committee in UP, the national committee would take a decision on the issue relating to division of UP.

Q: Do you think that BJP would benefit in forthcoming polls due to the present Yatra?

Definitely the present Poru Yatra would benefit the party (BJP) in the forthcoming polls. People are attending in large numbers to my public meetings and our cadres are also happy with the success of the tour.

Q: What is the message you want to convey to the party cadres?

Telangana people have been agitating for the past 50 years for separate state. Several hundreds of students and youth lost their lives during the agitation.

All parties, keeping aside their political affiliations, have to give a united fight for achieving Telangana. The agitation for separate state should continue.

The leaders should restrain from playing with the lives of the people of the two regions – Telangana and Andhra.

Source – The HANS India

The previous stronghold of Naxalites was seen as a fertile ground by the Saffron brigade in the coming days and they are sparing no stone unturned to strengthen the base with the aid of the Telangana movement.Firstly they feel the Telangana issue would be helping them on the smaller states line and secondly they feel the people of telangana would give them the chance on the grounds that they had protected the interests of the region hitherto.

Though the recent India Today Marg survey has revealed the BJP led front would remain second in the run for the next parliament polls in the country, the BJP is keen on entering new pastures with the aid of sentiments and strong ethnic issues. Telangana was termed the gaining ground of that party by the BJP pandits and they are citing the examples of 1980’s and 1990’s for supplementing their views.

In 1980’s the BJP has clinched the Hanamkonda parliament seat from the Congress party when its nominee C.Janga Reddy ousted the then sitting MP and former PM PV Narsimha Rao. At that time the party has won only two seats in the entire country. The example of 1990’s was cited from the Karimnagar point of view and then too the party nominee Vidyasagar Rao won the seat with the help of TDP. In these two instances the BJP is feeling the party base in the previous naxalite bastion was swelling with the aid of its frontal units and it could be the prime reason why the BJP is sticking on the smaller states slogan even in the case of Telangana issue.

The Poru Yatra of BJP was planned with the same motto of entering new areas by the central leadership of the National party and National level leaders of that party including the national president Nitin Ghadkari, National leader Rajeev Pratap Roodi and others took part in the programme with the same aim.

The post India Today survey period was taken as a challenge by the BJP and it is keen on entering the new areas in the coming days.

Speaking to the media at TRS Bhavan, TRS Politburo member Dr Shravan Kumar said that an NGO named “Center for Science and Environment” exposed L Rajagopal’s corruption. He said that the Lanco Company, which established nine benami companies had bagged 235 MW power generation project. He said that the TRS would address letters to the CBI and National Solar Mission if the Centre failed to respond on their demand of CBI inquiry into Lanco Company’s corrupt practices.

A Bench, comprising Justice Ghulam Mohammad and Justice K G Shankar, directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and complete the probe within three months. The court expressed serious concern over the rights violation by the police and wanted CBI to do a thorough inquiry. The court gave this ruling in a petition by Yakub Reddy who charged the cops with torturing him during interrogation. According to medical experts, Yakub Reddy suffered damage to one of his kidneys due to police beating.

Yakub Reddy was among 14 KU Joint Action Committee students who were arrested by the police and tortured for vandalising district minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah’s house at Ramnagar in Warangal on September 6, 2011. The students were staging a dharna, demanding the minister’s resignation in support of separate Telangana state.

Senior counsel D Prakash Reddy had brought to HC’s notice in September last how the police tried to mislead the magistrate while producing the agitators before him. It was only after the magistrate noticed Yakub Reddy’s absence that the police were forced to produce the student activist before him. By then, Yakub’s condition had turned critical and he was produced before the magistrate on a stretcher.

Bringing this to the court’s notice, Prakash Reddy told the single judge earlier that he had personally visited the victim at the Warangal hospital and came to know about the brutal treatment meted out to him and open threats issued by Kazipet DSP Venkata Narsaiah. The single judge then referred the matter to a division bench.

Yakub Reddy was first admitted to MGM Hospital in Warangal in a critical condition on September 7. When his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to NIMS and later Yashoda Hospital, Hyderabad. He underwent treatment for over 45 days.

Yakub said justice has been done with the court order. “I was brutally kicked and tortured by the cops. Because of the police beating, I am unable to walk properly even now,” he told TOI.

He said then DSP Venkata Narsaiah had warned them that they should stop participating in the Telangana agitation or they would be killed in an encounter.

“The police officials threatened us that they will “encounter” us if we say ‘Jai Telangana’.

The last few months have been traumatic as I was always worried about cops swooping down on my place and taking me away again for questioning,” he said.

The Subedari police had taken Yakub and 13 others into custody on September 6 and shifted them to Madikonda police station where they were beaten up mercilessly.

The police authorities sent Yakub to Dharmasagar police station from where he was taken to Zaffargadh and Palakurthy police stations.

TRS district convenor P Sudarshan Reddy and Warangal West MLA D Vinaya Bhaskar tried to get him released from police custody but in vain.

Following a direction from the Warangal district court, Yakub was shifted to MGM Hospital.

The students recalled that they were mercilessly beaten up by police for ‘daring’ to conduct a dharna in front of Ponnala’s house.

Apparently, Ponnala was peeved because the agitating students had smashed a photo-frame of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

The Telangana lawyers’ Joint Action Committee had earlier lodged a complaint against the police brutality at the AP State Human Rights Commission and the SHRC, in turn, had asked for a detailed report from the director-general of police on the incident.

MLC Chukka Ramaiah said the police were acting in a vindictive manner and compared their brutality to the suppression of Telangana armed struggle by the Razakars of Nizam. TRS floor leader Etela Rajender said his party had sought suspension of Venkata Narsaiah.

TRS MLA T Harish Rao said instead of suspending Narsaiah, the government transferred him and sent him to Hyderabad to work as an ACP.

He said Narsaiah had threatened to “encounter” those students who raised Telangana issue.

Telangana Joint Action Committee has called for Warangal Bandh on Friday as a mark of protest against Naidu’s visit. Apart from the Joint Action Committee of the Kakatiya University students the doctors’ JAC has also declared its support to the bandh. Doctors announced that they will attend only emergency duties on Friday.

Appealing to the people of Warangal to make the Bandh successful, TJAC convenor Prof Kodanda Ram said that any political party wishing to take up a program in Telangana region should first elaborate its stand on Telangana State issue. Local TRS MLA Vinay Bhaskar was among the hundreds of pro Telangana leaders who have been detained by the police.

Vinay Bhaskar was arrested by the police when he was addressing a media conference at the TRS party office in Warangal on Thursday.

Fearing violence, police have made massive security arrangements in the district especially on the route of Naidu’s visit. Apart from the thousands of policemen, Rapid Action Force has also been deployed

Police officials are fearing a repeat of 2010 incident in which the YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy was prevented from entering the district by TRS workers.

Naidu’s visit “Rythu Poru Bata” in Warangal is taking place amid intense war of words between the leaders of the TRS and the TDP. While TRS has stepped up its attack on Naidu and other TDP leaders describing them the main enemies of Telangana State, TDP leaders led by acerbic leader and MLA M Narasimhulu have questioned the very right of K Cahandrasehkhar Rao to espouse the cause of Telangana saying he was not born in the region.

Senior Telugu Desam party leader in Warangal district E Dayakar Rao has charged the TRS leaders with making provocative statements and created tension in Warangal. “It is the same TRS which is responsible for the suicide by 700 youth of Telangana as its leaders have made provocative statements”, he said.

Dayakar Rao said that no body will be able to stop Chandrababu Naidu from visiting Warangal. “He is coming here to express solidarity with the farmers who were facing distress and many of them have committed suicide”, he said.

Retorting to this TRS leader T Harish Rao said that the people, especially farmers of Warangal do not need any solidarity of Naidu. “They only want Telangana state and they want to know whether the TDP supports this or not”, he said.

Though Naidu has already visited other Telangana districts like Khammam, Medak, Mahbubnjagar and Nizamabad, his visit to Warnagal has raised the heckles among the T-supporters.

Apart from Naidu, YSR Congress president Jaganmohan Reddy has also decided to visit the region soon and sit on a fast in support of Telangana farmers on January 10.

They wanted him to ensure that a decision in favour of separate state is taken. “Packages or councils will not be acceptable to the people of the region,” they pointed out. They expressed dissatisfaction over the party deferring the decision for one reason or the other. Each time they raised the issue, the party was coming up with one pretext or the other, the ministers reportedly told Azad.
The ministers also wanted the party to ensure that Chevella Pranahita project is declared a national project. “Polavaram is likely to get the status soon. It is time the Congress addressed the Telangana project as well,” they said.

After listening to them, Azad said the party was really bogged down with the elections though it was eager to take a decision on the issue. “The party leadership is feeling bad that a decision on Telangana has been taking long but we cannot help it. I will have a meeting with you all again,” he said. Azad asked the ministers to write down their grievances on a piece of paper, sign it and give it to him. But the ministers, who apparently were afraid of doing so, quietly walked out of the hall, sources said.