07-07-2005, 11:49 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Quit now or face bullets </b>
Pioneer
Kalyani Shankar
Will a separate Telangana state become a reality for the people of the region? This is the million dollar question - although the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) hopes to achieve its objective.
It is more than a year since the TRS became a partner of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh as well as the Centre. But there is still no sign of a separate Telangana state despite fact that the issue was included in the common minimum programme of the UPA Government. When a solution to the Telangana issue seemed to be nowhere in sight the TRS lost its patience and to keep up the pressure, the party pulled out its ministers in Hyderabad early this week.
Was it just a storm in a teacup or was it more than that? TRS chief Chandrasekhara Rao makes it clear that it is the State leadership in Hyderabad that he is against, and not the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The TRS has taken the matter to Ms Gandhi's court and is hopeful that something will emerge soon, which will assuage the feelings of the people of the region.
The Telangana movement has its own background and is a long pending demand of the backward region of Andhra Pradesh. In the '70s, Chenna Reddy led the movement for separate Telangana state; however, it died down soon afterwards when Chenna Reddy joined the Congress and became Chief Minister. The dormant feelings of the people of the region were rekindled once again by Mr Chandrasekhara Rao when he resigned from the Telugu Desam Party and launched an agitation for a separate Telangana state.
The Congress tied up with the TRS and fought the 2004 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The TRS emerged as winner in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls and won 24 and five seats respectively. The Congress won two-thirds majority in the State Assembly. Ms Gandhi then invited the TRS to join both the State Cabinet and the UPA Government, which the party did.
However, everything did not end happily as the TRS is under great pressure from the Naxalites with whose help the party won the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. While Chief Minister Reddy invited the Naxalites for talks, nothing came of it and the Left-wing radicals only strengthened their base during the negotiations with more arms and resources. Now the Naxals are calling the shots and the TRS has nowhere to turn.
<b>More than a year has passed since and now it is payback time for the TRS. The Naxalites are pointing the gun to their heads and are demanding results</b>. The people of the Telangana region are also getting restive that there is no forward movement towards forming a separate state. And the TRS cannot keep the people happy by making mere promises.
The group of ministers (GoM) headed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee has met only once to discuss the issue. And a second meeting has been called this week. Mr Mukherjee has written to various political parties for their views. While some like the TDP have not replied, the BJP is also non-committal so far. TRS leaders claim the support of 26 parties while even the Congress disputes this claim. Mr Chandrasekhara Rao holds Mr YS Rajasekhara Reddy equally responsible for the current state of affairs.
First, it must be said that Mr Reddy is totally against the idea of a separate Telangana state - he had made his position clear even before the elections. He hails from Rayalaseema region and fears that there may soon be a demand for a separate Rayalaseema state as well. That is why Ms Gandhi kept Mr Reddy and the then Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, out and entrusted the task of sealing the alliance with the TRS to the suave Defence Minister before the elections.
Mr Rao and Mr Mukherjee hit it off and now the former is pleased that it is Mr Mukherjee who is heading the GoM to look into the demand for a separate Telangana state. Mr Mukherjee has already written to all the parties and is almost ready with the report. Mr Reddy and most other Andhra Congress leaders have convinced Mr Digvijay Singh, Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, that Mr Rao is veering from the pre-election agreement for a second State Reorganisation Commission and is asking why is he not honouring this agreement signed by him before the polls. The TRS is adamant that a separate Telangana state must be formed or else it will pull out of the Centre as well.
<b>The Congress, being a national party, must think big and is worried that there may be similar demands for Vidarbha, Saurashtra, Harit Pradesh, Bundelkhandh and Kutch.</b> Its leaders do not want to open a Pandora's box by delivering a separate Telangana state in a hurry.
Mr Reddy also knows that this is mere pressure tactics, as the withdrawal of the TRS's support will not endanger his Government. For the record, Mr Chandrasekhara Rao has advanced two arguments in favour of a TRS pull out: First, the slow progress of the Telangana issue, and second, the mishandling of the talks with the Naxalites by the State Government.
<b>Interestingly, the TRS ministers who were elected with the tacit support of the Naxalites are now left with no other option but resign as the deadline given by the Maoists was coming to an end. The Maoists are now saying, "Quit now or face bullets." </b>The problem is that both the Congress and the TRS are facing the wrath of the Naxalites who had been running a parallel administration in the region for the last many years now. Every Chief Minister has attempted and failed to tackle their menace. During elections, it is the writ of the Naxalites which runs in the villages.
Mr Chandrasekhara Rao also cites other issues like the delaying of the Pulichintla project site, irrigation programmes and other development works in the region for the TRS grouch. The party is also unhappy because Mr Reddy is mooting the idea of a greater Hyderabad, which in effect would kill the plan to make Hyderabad the capital of Telangana if and when a separate state is formed.
The Congress, obviously, feels there is no hurry while the TRS faces pressure. Telangana is not the priority for the UPA allies either. That is why the Congress is simply going through the motions with the intent of buying time. <b>The TRS has to go along with the Congress if it wants to remain in power</b>. Mr Chandrasekhara Rao was blunt when he explained that the TRS had to remain in the UPA because it is one of the 24 partners, while in the State it is the only partner. "We want both their feet inside rather than outside," is what Mr Digvijay Singh had to say.
Mr Chandrasekhara Rao argues that consensus does not mean all parties should agree and if a majority are in agreement, then a separate Telangana state would be possible. The Congress is not only vacillating on the Telangana issue but also the handling of the Naxalites. Unless the Government has a proper strategy to tackle the Left-wing radicals, the problem will persist.
The resignation of TRS ministers is a clear indication of what what lies in store. Mr Chandrasekhara Rao knows that if he is unable to deliver, he, too, will eventually have to resign. That is his desperation. Ms Gandhi wants her UPA partners intact and, hence, her soft approach towards the TRS. <b>Sooner or later some action will have to be taken or else the bubble will burst. The TRS has much at stake - if it does not deliver, its very existence could come into peril.</b> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Pioneer
Kalyani Shankar
Will a separate Telangana state become a reality for the people of the region? This is the million dollar question - although the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) hopes to achieve its objective.
It is more than a year since the TRS became a partner of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh as well as the Centre. But there is still no sign of a separate Telangana state despite fact that the issue was included in the common minimum programme of the UPA Government. When a solution to the Telangana issue seemed to be nowhere in sight the TRS lost its patience and to keep up the pressure, the party pulled out its ministers in Hyderabad early this week.
Was it just a storm in a teacup or was it more than that? TRS chief Chandrasekhara Rao makes it clear that it is the State leadership in Hyderabad that he is against, and not the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The TRS has taken the matter to Ms Gandhi's court and is hopeful that something will emerge soon, which will assuage the feelings of the people of the region.
The Telangana movement has its own background and is a long pending demand of the backward region of Andhra Pradesh. In the '70s, Chenna Reddy led the movement for separate Telangana state; however, it died down soon afterwards when Chenna Reddy joined the Congress and became Chief Minister. The dormant feelings of the people of the region were rekindled once again by Mr Chandrasekhara Rao when he resigned from the Telugu Desam Party and launched an agitation for a separate Telangana state.
The Congress tied up with the TRS and fought the 2004 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The TRS emerged as winner in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls and won 24 and five seats respectively. The Congress won two-thirds majority in the State Assembly. Ms Gandhi then invited the TRS to join both the State Cabinet and the UPA Government, which the party did.
However, everything did not end happily as the TRS is under great pressure from the Naxalites with whose help the party won the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. While Chief Minister Reddy invited the Naxalites for talks, nothing came of it and the Left-wing radicals only strengthened their base during the negotiations with more arms and resources. Now the Naxals are calling the shots and the TRS has nowhere to turn.
<b>More than a year has passed since and now it is payback time for the TRS. The Naxalites are pointing the gun to their heads and are demanding results</b>. The people of the Telangana region are also getting restive that there is no forward movement towards forming a separate state. And the TRS cannot keep the people happy by making mere promises.
The group of ministers (GoM) headed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee has met only once to discuss the issue. And a second meeting has been called this week. Mr Mukherjee has written to various political parties for their views. While some like the TDP have not replied, the BJP is also non-committal so far. TRS leaders claim the support of 26 parties while even the Congress disputes this claim. Mr Chandrasekhara Rao holds Mr YS Rajasekhara Reddy equally responsible for the current state of affairs.
First, it must be said that Mr Reddy is totally against the idea of a separate Telangana state - he had made his position clear even before the elections. He hails from Rayalaseema region and fears that there may soon be a demand for a separate Rayalaseema state as well. That is why Ms Gandhi kept Mr Reddy and the then Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, out and entrusted the task of sealing the alliance with the TRS to the suave Defence Minister before the elections.
Mr Rao and Mr Mukherjee hit it off and now the former is pleased that it is Mr Mukherjee who is heading the GoM to look into the demand for a separate Telangana state. Mr Mukherjee has already written to all the parties and is almost ready with the report. Mr Reddy and most other Andhra Congress leaders have convinced Mr Digvijay Singh, Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, that Mr Rao is veering from the pre-election agreement for a second State Reorganisation Commission and is asking why is he not honouring this agreement signed by him before the polls. The TRS is adamant that a separate Telangana state must be formed or else it will pull out of the Centre as well.
<b>The Congress, being a national party, must think big and is worried that there may be similar demands for Vidarbha, Saurashtra, Harit Pradesh, Bundelkhandh and Kutch.</b> Its leaders do not want to open a Pandora's box by delivering a separate Telangana state in a hurry.
Mr Reddy also knows that this is mere pressure tactics, as the withdrawal of the TRS's support will not endanger his Government. For the record, Mr Chandrasekhara Rao has advanced two arguments in favour of a TRS pull out: First, the slow progress of the Telangana issue, and second, the mishandling of the talks with the Naxalites by the State Government.
<b>Interestingly, the TRS ministers who were elected with the tacit support of the Naxalites are now left with no other option but resign as the deadline given by the Maoists was coming to an end. The Maoists are now saying, "Quit now or face bullets." </b>The problem is that both the Congress and the TRS are facing the wrath of the Naxalites who had been running a parallel administration in the region for the last many years now. Every Chief Minister has attempted and failed to tackle their menace. During elections, it is the writ of the Naxalites which runs in the villages.
Mr Chandrasekhara Rao also cites other issues like the delaying of the Pulichintla project site, irrigation programmes and other development works in the region for the TRS grouch. The party is also unhappy because Mr Reddy is mooting the idea of a greater Hyderabad, which in effect would kill the plan to make Hyderabad the capital of Telangana if and when a separate state is formed.
The Congress, obviously, feels there is no hurry while the TRS faces pressure. Telangana is not the priority for the UPA allies either. That is why the Congress is simply going through the motions with the intent of buying time. <b>The TRS has to go along with the Congress if it wants to remain in power</b>. Mr Chandrasekhara Rao was blunt when he explained that the TRS had to remain in the UPA because it is one of the 24 partners, while in the State it is the only partner. "We want both their feet inside rather than outside," is what Mr Digvijay Singh had to say.
Mr Chandrasekhara Rao argues that consensus does not mean all parties should agree and if a majority are in agreement, then a separate Telangana state would be possible. The Congress is not only vacillating on the Telangana issue but also the handling of the Naxalites. Unless the Government has a proper strategy to tackle the Left-wing radicals, the problem will persist.
The resignation of TRS ministers is a clear indication of what what lies in store. Mr Chandrasekhara Rao knows that if he is unable to deliver, he, too, will eventually have to resign. That is his desperation. Ms Gandhi wants her UPA partners intact and, hence, her soft approach towards the TRS. <b>Sooner or later some action will have to be taken or else the bubble will burst. The TRS has much at stake - if it does not deliver, its very existence could come into peril.</b> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->