04-27-2006, 07:54 PM
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<b>MIM wants Urdu state in Hyderabad</b>
Ganesh S Lakshman
[ Thursday, April 27, 2006 02:27:15 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
HYDERABAD: Just as TRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao has begun crowing that a separate Telangana is nigh with the passage of a bill to that effect in the forthcoming session of Parliament, the <b>Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), the paramount party in the Old City of Hyderabad, has raised a demand that would surprise all parties to the dispute: should Andhra Pradesh be carved up into Telangana and Andhra, Hyderabad should be made an Urdu-speaking state, or at least a union territory.</b>
The party's MP for Hyderabad, Asaduddin Owaisi, says a consensus is emerging with <b>the Muslim community of the city that there be a separate state for the Urdu-speaking people, just as there are several other linguistic states in the country.</b>
"Urdu played a great role in the Independence struggle. States so far have been divided on linguistic lines. There is a great churning within the Muslim parties as well as the intelligentsia that there should be a separate state for Urdu-speaking people," Owaisi told TOI.
Referring to the Telangana issue, Owaisi said, <b>"When there can be talk of two Telugu-speaking states, Andhra and Telangana, why not a state for the Urdu-speaking people?"</b>
As the representative of a party which is a partner in the UPA coalition, Owaisi said he met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and submitted a memorandum to them seeking a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) as well as a Rs 10,000 crore development fund for Telangana.
"But let me make one thing clear. If Telangana is formed, Hyderabad should be made a Union territory. Warangal can be the capital of Telangana and Rajahmundry or some other city the capital of Andhra," he said.
The Muslim community here harbours an apprehension that<b> if Telangana is formed, it will end up in the hands of the BJP, as happened with the creation of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh</b>.
According to Owaisi, there being no strong Congress leaders from Telangana, the Grand Old Party nor the TRS's K Chandrasekhar Rao would be able to hold off a saffron surge.
Owaisi said leaders espousing the cause of the people of Telangana were speaking of the lack of any development in the region, but the plight of the Muslim community in the country was far worse.
"Muslims are the worst sufferers in terms of jobs, etc. Most of the localities in the Old City do not even get drinking water," he said.
It is because of these reasons that the MIM and the Muslim community is veering around to the formation of a separate state for Urdu-speaking people. "The idea is avidly being discussed both in the party and the community," he added.
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<b>MIM wants Urdu state in Hyderabad</b>
Ganesh S Lakshman
[ Thursday, April 27, 2006 02:27:15 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
HYDERABAD: Just as TRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao has begun crowing that a separate Telangana is nigh with the passage of a bill to that effect in the forthcoming session of Parliament, the <b>Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), the paramount party in the Old City of Hyderabad, has raised a demand that would surprise all parties to the dispute: should Andhra Pradesh be carved up into Telangana and Andhra, Hyderabad should be made an Urdu-speaking state, or at least a union territory.</b>
The party's MP for Hyderabad, Asaduddin Owaisi, says a consensus is emerging with <b>the Muslim community of the city that there be a separate state for the Urdu-speaking people, just as there are several other linguistic states in the country.</b>
"Urdu played a great role in the Independence struggle. States so far have been divided on linguistic lines. There is a great churning within the Muslim parties as well as the intelligentsia that there should be a separate state for Urdu-speaking people," Owaisi told TOI.
Referring to the Telangana issue, Owaisi said, <b>"When there can be talk of two Telugu-speaking states, Andhra and Telangana, why not a state for the Urdu-speaking people?"</b>
As the representative of a party which is a partner in the UPA coalition, Owaisi said he met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and submitted a memorandum to them seeking a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) as well as a Rs 10,000 crore development fund for Telangana.
"But let me make one thing clear. If Telangana is formed, Hyderabad should be made a Union territory. Warangal can be the capital of Telangana and Rajahmundry or some other city the capital of Andhra," he said.
The Muslim community here harbours an apprehension that<b> if Telangana is formed, it will end up in the hands of the BJP, as happened with the creation of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh</b>.
According to Owaisi, there being no strong Congress leaders from Telangana, the Grand Old Party nor the TRS's K Chandrasekhar Rao would be able to hold off a saffron surge.
Owaisi said leaders espousing the cause of the people of Telangana were speaking of the lack of any development in the region, but the plight of the Muslim community in the country was far worse.
"Muslims are the worst sufferers in terms of jobs, etc. Most of the localities in the Old City do not even get drinking water," he said.
It is because of these reasons that the MIM and the Muslim community is veering around to the formation of a separate state for Urdu-speaking people. "The idea is avidly being discussed both in the party and the community," he added.
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