No opposition to separate Telangana at all-party meet

Telangana issue resurfaced after the ruling Congress suffered a setback in the recent by-elections. Rumours are rife that the party may even give a green signal for a separate Telangana State.

Has the ruling Congress softened its stand on the issue of separate Telangana State after it suffered a setback in the recent by-elections? It appears like that if the proceedings of an all-party meeting held recently at Gudivada in Krishna district on water allocation are any indication.

The separate State issue surfaced at the meeting but surprisingly there were no protests against the formation of Telangana State, a clear deviation from the Congress party’s earlier stand.

The leaders at the meeting resolved to press their demand that water allocated to each region be specified before the bifurcation of the State and that the Telangana issue must be kept pending till the completion of Polavaram and Pulichintala projects. But, there was no disapproval of the proposed formation of a separate Telangana State.

Telangana issue resurfaced after the ruling Congress suffered a setback in the recent by-elections. Rumours are rife that the party may even give a green signal for a separate Telangana State.

Farmers and leaders from Krishna, Guntur, East and West Godavari districts took part in the ‘akhila paksham’ meeting organised by A.P. Rythanga Samakhya but interestingly, nobody seemed to be in a mood to oppose the Statehood for Telangana.

The separate Telangana agitation gained momentum in 2009, after Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram announced that the process of carving out Telangana would start on September 9. The issue which rocked the State took the backseat for quite sometime.

Widespread protests

There were widespread protests from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema over Mr. Chidambaram’s statement, while the Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS) and its affiliated parties demanded that the Centre stick to the Union Minister’s statement.

Students’ unions and employees’ associations supported by the local political leaders expressed strong protest against bifurcation of the State in the presence of Sri Krishna Committee members when they visited districts to gather public opinion. With the Congress leaders softening their stand on the issue, reports that even the Centre is paving the way for division of the State are gaining ground.