Hyderabad: Ahead of the all-party meeting
convened by the Centre in Delhi on Tuesday, Telangana
protagonists today stepped up their campaign demanding that
Parliament pass a legislation for the creation of the separate
state and fix a time-frame for the purpose.
A massive rally of students mobilised here from all 10
districts of Telangana region, permission for which was
granted by the High Court yesterday, sent out a clear message
that there was no need for adopting a resolution in Andhra
Pradesh assembly favouring creation of Telangana.
The rally at Osmania University, the nerve centre of
Telangana agitation, addressed by Telangana activists and
naxalite sympathisers including poet Varavara Rao, decided to
observe a rail and road blockade on January 5 to prevent buses
and trains coming from Andhra and Rayalaseema areas.
This is to counter a similar bandh announced by
activists, who are campaigning for a united Andhra Pradesh, in
coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, and would coincide
with the talks the Centre has convened with eight recognized
political parties of the state.
The speakers at the meeting here also asked leaders like
N Chandrababu Naidu of TDP and PRP`s Chiranjeevi to come out
with their stand and not vacillate or make U-turns on the
issue of creation of Telangana.
Some of the speakers even warned that Gandhi Bhawan,
state Congress headquarters and NTR Bhawan, TDP head office,
in Hyderabad would be razed to the ground if Telangana is not
achieved. Varavara Rao said it is the right of people of Telangana
to fight for a separate state and to free themselves from the
"exploitation" of people from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.
Other speakers at the rally also said the Telangana
movement has come to the "clinching" stage because of the
students struggle and not because of political leaders.
Meanwhile, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, the political
face of the Telangana movement, left for New Delhi to attend
the Tuesday all-party meeting convened by Home Minister P
Chidambaram.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for the capital, Rao
said he would impress the January 5 meeting for an immediate
Parliament resolution on formation of Telangana.
Rao, who has resigned as a Lok Sabha member, also said he
would meet leaders like Lalu Prasad, Ajit Singh and Sharad
Pawar to convince them the need for a resolution in Parliament
on the statehood issue.
While Rao will represent TRS at the meeting, Congress is
likely to be represented by leaders from all the three regions
of the state. Sources said APCC chief D Srinivas (Telangana),
senior MP K S Rao (coastal Andhra) and Agriculture Minister
Raghuveera Reddy (Rayalaseema) will attend the meeting on
behalf of Congress.
K Rosaiah will participate in the meeting in his capacity
as Chief Minister. While Chiranjeevi will represent
Prajarajyam Party, it is not yet clear who will represent TDP
in the meeting.
PTI
