Now, Telangana erupts over UPA's Rayala plan -Governance Now

Now, Telangana erupts over UPA's Rayala plan

The latest decision by the Centre to create a larger Rayala Telangana has sparked off protests

GN Bureau | December 4, 2013

Protests erupted over the UPA`s decision

The statehood strife returned to Andhra Pradesh once again today. But this time, the baton of agitation switched from Seemandhra to Telangana. Protests erupted across the 10 districts of the Telangana region and state capital Hyderabad over the UPA’s reported plans to create a larger Rayala Telangana state. Thousands, including students and employees, spilled on to the streets to stage a variety of protests.

Political circles in both Delhi and Hyderabad are agog over reports that the Group of Ministers preparing the Draft Telangana bill has almost finalized the proposal for the creation of Rayala Telangana. The latest plan entails reconstitution of Andhra Pradesh to create a larger Telangana with the merger of two Rayalaseema districts, Kurnool and Ananthapur.

Also read: Telangana: why Kiran Reddy says don't divide AP

Taking serious exception to the hybrid state plans, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Telangan Joint Action Committee (TJAC) called for a Telangana bandh tomorrow. The protest is aimed at sending a stout message across to the Congress and the UPA ahead of a crucial cabinet meeting tomorrow evening.

The region was back into the agitational mode as spontaneous protests erupted all across since this morning. Students of Osmania University in Hyderabad led the stir with a rally from inside the campus. Tension prevailed at the varsity entrance after the students were stopped in their stride by a heavy posse of police.

Doctors of Gandhi Hospital came out on to the streets to stage a rastaroko and raise slogans against the UPA. Activists of the TRS, led by Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao’s (KCR) son K Taraka Rama Rao, staged a dharna at Gunpark in Hyderabad. Addressing his partymen, KTR warned the Centre with a fresh bout of intensified agitation if it failed to give up its new-found obsession for Rayala Telangana.

In Medak district, student wings led a spate of rallies that were held across the district including the district headquarter town of Sangareddy and Siddipet. Joining the protests, lawyers announced a three-day boycott of courts in protest against the proposed plan.

In Mahaboobabad of Warangal district, students and JAC leaders enforced a spontaneous rail roko (halt). As a result, movement of trains on the Secunderabad-Vijayawada route was badly hit. The police swung into action and arrested the agitators, which sparked off tension for a while.

Rallies and sit-ins have also become the order of the day across Karimnagar district. Workers of Singareni Collieries in Godavari Khani turned up for work wearing black badges.

Comments

Other News

When religion, politics and Bollywood come together

Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj

Cabinet approves setting up of Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Delhi moves to real-time traffic management

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, has approved implementation of the ITMS Project by Delhi Police at an estimated cost of Rs.1,789.52 crore, inclusive of taxes. The project will cover 42 identified traffic corridors and will be implemented in three