Hyderabad: Mounting pressure on the
Centre for formation of a separate Telangana, pro-statehood
groups Tuesday paralysed train traffic across the Telangana
region by cooking, eating and playing games on railway tracks.
In the face of growing pressure from Telangana
supporters, ruling Congress MLAs stepped up pressure on the
government by staying away from the Assembly.
Normal life was crippled across the region today due
to the dawn-to-dusk rail blockade in the region called by the
Telangana political Joint Action Committee (JAC) that
comprises TRS, BJP and various people`s organisations.
In the novel way of protest, the leaders and workers
of the parties held `rail roko` across Telangana and cooked
food, ate together, played games like kabaddi and sung songs
on the tracks.
TDP leaders from Telangana took part in the agitation
at the Secunderabad railway station, the headquarters of South
Central Railway, while TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao`s son
and MLA K T Rama Rao blocked rail traffic at Moula-Ali station
in the city.
Claiming that the agitation named `Palle Palle Pattala
Paiki` (villages on railway tracks) was a success, TRS
threatened to intensify the agitation if the Centre failed to
come out with a favourable response on the Telangana demand at
the earliest.
"The Centre announced on December 9, 2009 that it
will form separate Telangana. They should implement that
promise. The whole Telangana is agitated over the issue. If
the Centre fails to that, we will show what we are capable of,
on March 10 when we called for `Chalo Hyderabad` with lakhs of
people,” TRS politburo member Sravan Kumar told reporters.
"The Centre and state governments will not be able to
stand if the anger of Telangana people goes off the tracks. If
any unnatural incidents take place, state and Central
governments have to take the responsibility," Rama Rao said.
With South Central Railway cancelling about 25 express
trains, and several other passenger trains and regulating
several other trains, rail passengers had a tough time. The
sudden cancellation and regulation of trains since last night
put them to inconvenience, several passengers complained at
the railway stations all over Andhra Pradesh.
The state police and RPF made elaborate arrangements
to maintain law and order during the agitation and no major
untoward incidents were reported during the train blockade.
Meanwhile, ruling Congress MLAs from Telangana stayed
away from attending the Assembly session. The legislative
council witnessed two brief adjournments and a final
adjournment for the day as Congress, TDP and other members
from Telangana region raised slogans in the house demanding
that a bill be introduced in Parliament for formation of
separate Telangana.
The Congress MLCs, who earlier announced that they
will stay away from the session, said they will decide their
future action plan in consultation with ministers and MLAs who
planned to go to Delhi to meet the party high command.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy appealed
to all political parties and the Joint Action Committee to
call off their ongoing agitations and wait for the Centre`s
decision on the statehood issue.
He appealed to them not to do anything that would
jeopardise the future of students who will appear for year-end
examinations during March and April.
Demanding introduction of a bill in Parliament for
formation of separate Telangana, the Telangana state
government employees Joint Action Committee has been holding a
non-cooperation agitation for about two weeks now.
The TRS will be holding an `emergency` meeting of its
state executive tomorrow after which party president Rao would
leave for Delhi.
After disrupting the Lok Sabha proceedings last week,
he had announced that he will decide either way with the
Centre on the issue in the first week of March.
PTI
