08-17-2006, 12:55 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Bluster and bluff </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
<b>Congress won't agree to Telangana</b>
Telangana Rashtra Samiti president and Union Labour Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao, if his sabre-rattling on Tuesday is to be taken seriously, is an extremely angry man whose patience is running low. But must we take his bluster at face value? Ever since he mobilised support for his party, which contested the 2004 Lok Sabha election and Andhra Pradesh Assembly poll as an ally of the Congress, by promising to deliver Telangana in the near future, he has been periodically threatening the UPA Government with dire consequences. On its part, the Congress has chosen to remain silent, while the Left, which props up the UPA regime at the Centre, has categorically rejected the idea of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh to create Telangana. The unstated position of the Congress is obvious: Since there is lack of unanimity on the issue, it would rather leave it alone than risk the Left's ire. In any event, it is doubtful whether the Congress at any stage has been truly committed to the creation of Telangana, or any other small State, for that matter, by bifurcating large States to ensure good governance and better delivery. In order to cut a deal with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and thus secure an edge over the TDP-BJP combine, it went along with Mr Rao's agenda, only to dump it after coming to power in Hyderabad and Delhi. The party believes that it has returned Mr Rao's favour by making him a Union Minister with an important portfolio, and that he should remain content with the sop. There is a problem, though, that Mr Rao and his colleagues face back home among their constituents: They are increasingly being seen as opportunists who are willing to compromise on their electoral promise of creating a separate State - an extremely sensitive issue in the Telangana region where people feel discriminated against - for personal gains. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti's poor performance in local bodies elections is a measure of the disenchantment that has begun to rapidly set in.
Hence Mr Rao's threat of a "final and drastic decision" if the Congress fails to deliver on the electoral agreement it had entered into with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and his theatrical declaration that if he cannot have his way, he will return to his people "with sword and shield to fight for Telangana". But all his tough-talking is unlikely to impress the Congress; on several occasions over the past two years, he has upped the ante only to quietly drop the issue. If he does mean business this time, then he must walk the talk and quit the Government. Till he does so, Mr Rao should not expect either his constituents or people at large to treat his utterances with any degree of seriousness. Meanwhile, the main Opposition party should actively pursue the case for Telangana and lend unqualified support to a demand that is entirely justified. Ever since 1962, the people of this region have been agitating for a separate State which alone, they believe, can ensure better development. Similar demands for Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh have been met; there is no reason why the demand for Telangana should be ignored till, to quote Mr Rao, "the volcano erupts". The BJP, which has actively promoted the idea of smaller States and facilitated the creation of three of them, must now argue the case for Telangana. More important, the BJP must expose the true reason why the Congress and the Left are so cold to the idea of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh: <span style='color:red'>They do not wish to upset the descendants of razakars in Hyderabad.</span>
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
<b>Congress won't agree to Telangana</b>
Telangana Rashtra Samiti president and Union Labour Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao, if his sabre-rattling on Tuesday is to be taken seriously, is an extremely angry man whose patience is running low. But must we take his bluster at face value? Ever since he mobilised support for his party, which contested the 2004 Lok Sabha election and Andhra Pradesh Assembly poll as an ally of the Congress, by promising to deliver Telangana in the near future, he has been periodically threatening the UPA Government with dire consequences. On its part, the Congress has chosen to remain silent, while the Left, which props up the UPA regime at the Centre, has categorically rejected the idea of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh to create Telangana. The unstated position of the Congress is obvious: Since there is lack of unanimity on the issue, it would rather leave it alone than risk the Left's ire. In any event, it is doubtful whether the Congress at any stage has been truly committed to the creation of Telangana, or any other small State, for that matter, by bifurcating large States to ensure good governance and better delivery. In order to cut a deal with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and thus secure an edge over the TDP-BJP combine, it went along with Mr Rao's agenda, only to dump it after coming to power in Hyderabad and Delhi. The party believes that it has returned Mr Rao's favour by making him a Union Minister with an important portfolio, and that he should remain content with the sop. There is a problem, though, that Mr Rao and his colleagues face back home among their constituents: They are increasingly being seen as opportunists who are willing to compromise on their electoral promise of creating a separate State - an extremely sensitive issue in the Telangana region where people feel discriminated against - for personal gains. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti's poor performance in local bodies elections is a measure of the disenchantment that has begun to rapidly set in.
Hence Mr Rao's threat of a "final and drastic decision" if the Congress fails to deliver on the electoral agreement it had entered into with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and his theatrical declaration that if he cannot have his way, he will return to his people "with sword and shield to fight for Telangana". But all his tough-talking is unlikely to impress the Congress; on several occasions over the past two years, he has upped the ante only to quietly drop the issue. If he does mean business this time, then he must walk the talk and quit the Government. Till he does so, Mr Rao should not expect either his constituents or people at large to treat his utterances with any degree of seriousness. Meanwhile, the main Opposition party should actively pursue the case for Telangana and lend unqualified support to a demand that is entirely justified. Ever since 1962, the people of this region have been agitating for a separate State which alone, they believe, can ensure better development. Similar demands for Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh have been met; there is no reason why the demand for Telangana should be ignored till, to quote Mr Rao, "the volcano erupts". The BJP, which has actively promoted the idea of smaller States and facilitated the creation of three of them, must now argue the case for Telangana. More important, the BJP must expose the true reason why the Congress and the Left are so cold to the idea of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh: <span style='color:red'>They do not wish to upset the descendants of razakars in Hyderabad.</span>
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