The Telangana activists observed Sunday (December 23) as the ‘Betrayal Day’ (‘vidroha dinam’) protesting against the Centre going back on its promise of initiating the process of State formation, on December 23, 2009, by holding demonstrations and hoisting black flags at various places in the region.
In Nalgonda, members of the district unit of Telangana Political Joint Action Committee (TJAC) demonstrated with black flags at Clock Tower, as part of the ‘vidroha dinam’.
The Telangana protagonists raised slogans of ‘Jai Telangana’ and condemned the Centre for its failure to honour its promise of launching the process of state formation and the Seemandhra leaders for blocking the move by their ‘machinations’.
TJAC Nalgonda chairman G. Venkateshwarlu, co-chairman G. Amarender Reddy, BJP district president V. Chandrasekhar, CPI secretary M. Adi Reddy and Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) activists C. Anil Kumar, S. Rammohan, M. Saranya Reddy, S. Lakshmi, among others, participated in the protest.
‘Make commitment’
Addressing the demonstrators, the leaders wanted all parties attending the December 28 meeting at New Delhi to commit to Telangana and announce their support for forming the State.
They said if the parties failed to pledge their support to the separate State, people would ‘bury’ them in the ensuing elections.
In Nizamabad, the Telangana activists hoisted black flags on the municipal corporation office building.
The PDSU activists burnt the effigy of the Centre and the TGVP workers took out a protest rally from the Women’s College to the NTR Chowrasta.
The PDSU, TRSV, TNGOs’ Association and the T-JAC activists participated in the protest.
The district TJAC leaders besieged the District Congress Committee office in Karimnagar town resulting in a tussle with Congress leaders who had come to participate in a programme there.
However, the police reached the place and arrested the protesters.
The Telangana protagonists staged protests across the district to observe the ‘Vidroha Dinam’. Black flag demonstrations and rallies marked the protests at a majority of places.
In Adilabad town, the TRS activists hoisted a black flag at the TJAC hunger strike camp at NTR Chowk.
A group of State government employees belonging to the Nirmal unit of the Telangana Employees Joint Action Committee (TEJAC) picketed the Congress party office in town as a mark of protest in connection with the Telangana ‘Vidroha Dinam’.