The reported letter by the State government to the Union government taking exception to some of the provisions in the proposed amendment to Article 371 to include Karnataka in the schedule for providing special status to Hyderabad Karnataka region is snowballing into major crisis with some of the organisations threatening to re-launch the agitation demanding separate statehood for the Hyderabad Karnataka region.
Media reports said the State government had written a letter to the Centre accusing it of taking unilateral decision on the amendment of Article 371 of the Constitution by including the provision of creating a statutory development board for Hyderabad Karnataka and vesting the powers of monitoring the implementation of the development works proposed under the board with the Governor. The letter had also raised the allocation for the proposed statutory development board and demanded central allocation for the proposed board.
The Parliamentary Committee on Home affairs headed by M. Venkaiah Naidu had also advised the Centre to consult the State government before moving the proposed amendment to Article 371.
The former Minister and president of the Hyderabad Karnataka Horata Samiti Vaijnath Patil, supported by president of the Hyderabad Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Umakant Nigudgi and others, has threatened to relaunch the agitation demanding separate statehood for the Hyderabad Karnataka region if the proposed Bill was not tabled in Parliament during the winter session and passed. Mr. Patil accused the BJP government in the State and the Parliamentary Committee on Home affairs of stalling the passage of the Bill by raising frivlous objections.
Hyderabad Karnataka Horatagala Samanvaya Samiti president Laxman Dasti has also threatened to join Mr. Patil in the demand for separate statehood. After a prolonged struggle by the people of the region, the Union government had agreed to amend the Article 371 and pave the way for inclusive development of the region by providing the reservation in employment and educational avenues and also providing statutory status to the development board.
“I do not know why the State government should oppose the statutory status development board, which would definitely help in the development of the region… the BJP government is against development of the region”, Mr. Dasti said. He gave an ultimatum till Wednesday for the State government to withdraw its objections to the proposed amendment and threatened to launch an intensified agitation.
District Congress Committee president Sharanprakash Patil said when the people of the Hyderabad Karnataka region were all set to reap the benefits of the long drawn struggle, the Bharatiya Janata Party has once again proved that it was not interested in the development of the region.
Mr. Patil said that the objections of the parliamentary committee and the state government would not come in the way of moving the Bill in Parliament.
