Friday, February 05, 2010

Telangana Agitation Turns Innovative

The strike for Telangana is getting inventive day by day.

A day after human chains were formed, some activists on Thursday set up mock kitchens in an apparent effort to send a message of cultural moorings.


The state highways between Hyderabad and Mancherial and Hyderabad and Warangal were turned into a big kitchen. After serving food, then the protestors begin singing and dancing.

Political leaders and workers, farmers, employees, students and youth and people from all walks of life gathered all along the 400-km-long route in the two directions, cooked food and served it to the long rows of people.

They also organized "Aata Patalu" (cultural and sports programme" as the teams of men played traditional games, including kabaddi. Women performed folk dance and were seen singing tunes demanding Telangana state.


All party Telangana Joint Action Committee had given the call for this novel support a day after lakhs of people of the region had organized longest human chain for a distance of 500 km from Adilabad to Alampur.

"This is part of our peaceful protest to mount pressure on the Centre. We know with out struggle and building pressure we are not going to achieve the goal," said TJAC convenor Prof Kodandaram, who participated in the community kitchen and lunch programme at Shamirpet on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

"We will continue our protest. Our effort now is to make the Centre announce the terms of reference of Srikrishna committee at the earliest without a clear deadline," he said.

Several other leaders, including KT Rama Rao of TRS and T Devender Goud of TDP also participated in the programme.


"This is our response to the Gobbles propaganda of Andhra and Rayala Seema leaders that the agitation for Telangana state was being run by Maoists and anti-social elements and that it a violent agitation. Our people are organizing these novel programs in a very peaceful manner," he said.

"I am eating whatever has been prepared and served by the poor people of Telangana. This is rice, dal and curry of brinjal. I hope this is not Bt brinjal," he said.

Similar programs were organized at many places in the districts of Medak, Karinagar, Adilabad, Nalgonda and Warangal. On Friday, National Highway No. 7 from Hyderabad to Kodad on the borders of coastal Andhra region, will witness a similar program.


On Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu's remark that Andhra and Telangana were like two eyes for him, Prof Kodandaram said, "It appears that he is heading towards a position where he will support both Andhra and Telangana states".

Sources: Rediff.com

Labels: ,

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Other News on Telangana Agitation

Other related developments on Telangana agitation:

* Industrialists from the Charlapalli Industrial Area (in Hyderabad) took out a rally in support of a separate Telangana State. They alleged that the loss that Telangana suffered due to the merger with Andhra can never be gained and atleast now, the Government should pave way for a separate state.

* Tension prevailed at Nizams Institute for Medical Sciences here at Hyderabad when Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo, Chandra Babu Naidu visited KCR to express his solidarity. TDP Party is seen as a party which fights for a united state. They have changed their stance recently but doubts persist.

* Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders conducted a "sit in" opposite the Hyderabad Collectorate demanding the creation of Telangana immediately. BJP leader Mr. Venkaiah Naidu raised the issue of Telangana in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) yesterday while another leader, Ms.Sushma Swaraj raised the issue in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament). They demanded that the Government bring out a Bill for a separate state.

* Yesterday, police shamelessly Lathi Charged (caned) pro-Telangana students who have sit in for a relay hunger strike in the Osmania University Campus. The Police also attacked the journalists who were covering this incident. This created a tense situation and the Government had promptly transferred the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mr.Stephen Ravindra.

* The group of ministers from Telangana has heightened the pitch of their confrontation with the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, by threatening to quit their posts in support of the ongoing agitation.

The ‘pressure group’ that includes the home minister, Ms P. Sabita Indra Reddy, Mr K. Venkata Reddy (IT), Ms K. Sunitha Lakshmareddy (minor irrigation), Mr D. Sridhar Babu (higher education), Mrs D.K. Aruna (small industries) and Mr B. Sudarshan Reddy (medical education) has been vigorously opposing the Chief Minister’s strategy on Telangana.

On Monday, the gulf between the group and the Chief Minister widened after police caned students in Osmania University.

There were also heated discussions between ministers from other regions and the pressure group at the informal cabinet meeting held on Sunday.

Other Telangana ministers such as Mr Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Dr J. Geetha Reddy, Mr D. Nagender, Mr Mukesh Goud, Mr D. Rajanarasimha and Mr R. Venkata Reddy have sought to distance themselves from the pressure group.

These ministers had earlier turned down the proposal to go to Congress chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, as a delegation to persuade her to resolve the Telangana issue.

Labels: