Congress leader begins indefinite fast for Telangana

Hyderabad, November 01: Congress legislator Komatireddy Venkat Reddy Tuesday launched an indefinite hunger strike to ask the central government to initiate the process to carve out a separate Telangana state.

Venkat Reddy, who resigned as minister last month to protest the delay in forming Telangana, began the fast in Nalgonda town in the presence of some party MPs from the region.

"I am ready to sacrifice my life for the cause of Telangana. There is no question of calling off the fast," he told a huge gathering.

 

Venkat Reddy alleged that ministers from Telangana were the main hurdle in the formation of a separate state.

Congress MPs and former state ministers criticized their own party for not taking a clear stand in favour of Telangana.

Rajya Sabha member K. Keshava Rao said it was a shame that Congress MPs participating in Telangana movement were being implicated in false cases and sent to jail.

MPs K. Rajagopal Reddy, G. Vivek and Ponnam Prabhakar were also present.

In New Delhi, freedom fighter and former state minister Konda Laxman Bapuji Tuesday began a week-long "satyagrah" at Jantar Mantar, demanding statehood for Telangana.

Congress MP Madhu Goud Yaskhi, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) legislators E. Dayakar Rao, M. Narasimhulu and leaders of various Telangana groups took part in the protest.

The veteran leader will fast from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day for seven days.

Take By: Siasat

Keywords: Telangana News,  Telangana crisis, Telangana issue, Azad, T News, hmtv, tv9, Kiran Kumar Reddy,  Telangana agitation, statehood demand, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy
 

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Telangana TV is LIVE now! Its not T10 but Raj News

The much awaited Telangana TV channel is out now. No more waiting for news related to Telangana. No more discrimination. No need to watch major Telangana news as scrolls.  This is the beginning for a new era in Telangana media. Its a channel for Telangana by Telanganites. Its Raj News. “Telangana Gunde Chappudu”.

Though the channel was initially named as T10, 10 symbolizing the 10 districts of Telangana, it will now be called as Raj News.

“There are around 115 applications pending with the central government requesting broadcasting rights and most of them are news channels. So, it might take longer than expected if we want to go with our own brand. So, we have decided to take over Raj News which was operational few years ago and they still have the broad casting rights.

Once we get clearance for our channel, we might switch over to T10″ said an insider who works with the channel.

The channel is still testing frequescies with some test videos. Heres a first look at the channel.

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How the AP media is trying to suppress the truth about Telangana

Media watchdog THE HOOT publishes this about how and why the news channels, especially Telugu channels, are blocking news about Telangana struggle and suppressing the truth. This blog post is a follow-up to one of my previous posts – Why Telugu news channels bar coverage?.

Media in a banana republic

Why are news channels so diligently following the guidelines of the NBA and the Cable Regulation Act on the Telangana issue alone? Why does a democratically elected government want to prevent media from covering a major political issue festering in the state for the last 60 years, asks PADMAJA SHAW

Nearly a year ago, on 3 January 2010, under the directions of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Osmania University witnessed one of the biggest pro-Telangana student rallies. Some 150,000 students with identity cards arrived from colleges all over Telangana and dispersed without incident at the appointed time after the rally. Given that this came after weeks of siege of the campus by security forces, it was a heartening exercise in democratic politics.

December 2010. In the weeks before the announcement of Srikrishna Committee report, the campus was once again locked down by special police, rapid action force and other security personnel at all access points. The neighbouring localities were put under close watch. The campus road was reminiscent of the Wagah border! But it was not the Wagah border. The FORCE was deployed to battle a bunch of impassioned young students from the Telangana districts. In the name of preventing outsiders from entering the campus, no buses, media vehicles or cars were allowed to enter the campus. The university was compelled to close the campus messes. The students still on campus had no access to food and basic necessities. Politicians and rights activists were arrested if they attempted to enter the campus.

After the Committee report was made public, the state government has invoked the Cable Regulation Act and News Broadcasters Association guidelines and warned the electronic media against covering the activities on Osmania campus. The diktat was to avoid telecast of live/repeat footage of violent incidents and provocative speeches. But the result has been to black out more or less all coverage of the ground level response to the Srikrishna Committee report by the Telugu News TV channels for a few days. According to news reports, Raj TV channel, which is being run by Telengana Rashtra Samiti leader K Chandrashekhar Rao’s family on lease, was warned several times by the government through the license holder to refrain from showing visuals of the agitation. They have taken to flashing breaking news in large font without visuals.


It is interesting that the state government has been issuing statements that there is no police on the campus. The political leaders and the representatives of AP Civil Liberties Committee have been prevented from entering the campus (by who one wonders). Because there was little visual coverage of the events, the truth about the events is not coming out in public domain.


This raises the question: Why are the 16 or so news channels so diligently following the guidelines of the NBA and the Cable Regulation Act in the Telangana issue alone? Couple of days after Srikrishna Committee report was made public, there was a mafia style killing of Maddelacheruvu Suryanarayana in the heart of Hyderabad. The Telugu news channels went to town giving saturation coverage, repeatedly showing the bullet-ridden body and the lolling head of the dead man, violating the NBA guidelines and the Cable Regulation Act provisions for moderation.


Of the 14 or so Telugu news channels only 5 are members of the News Broadcasters Association. The remaining 9 are not. The big ones have more or less been back-peddling on the Telangana issue as the owners of the media houses are from Andhra essentially backing integrationist politicians. The Hyderabad Police Commissioner, Mr. A.K. Khan, asserts that he merely wants the channels to adhere to the provisions of Cable Act. The response of the channels has been to go for an all or none reading of the statement. They prefer to see coverage as live uplinks from the OB vans, unfiltered and un-moderated or unrelenting studio discussions with rabble-rousers. It would have been both a challenge and an education for the channels to finally find the middle path of well-informed and fair reporting of a problematic issue. Two very senior journalists have expressed the feeling that the channel heads are exploiting the statements of the Commissioner to scuttle coverage.


The channels and the government seem to have come to an understanding that by bottling the campus activity and by news black out they can effectively remove Telangana from public agenda. The state administration seems to have come to the conclusion that there is no Telangana movement without media coverage! The only reports that have surfaced on the media are those that show the agitators and students as hooligans, thereby discrediting the movement and the University. It is not yet clear if the hooliganism shown is by hired political goons or by students. No political party including TRS has taken the trouble of calling for peaceful protests that refrain from attacking innocent bystanders and business establishments. Focusing on violence and ignoring the issues raised has been a tried and tested technique used against the CPI (ML) groups for decades. Media effectively deflect the issue into a law and order problem by adopting this strategy and provide a justification for the use of force by the state.


One might add, after several rounds of recent High Court judgments, there is no attempt to implement the Cable Regulation Act by constituting advisory committees at the local and state level to monitor media and deal with complaints arising from the telecast of objectionable matter. The Act does not empower the Commissioner to unilaterally decide on which content to regulate. The Act prescribes a process through which this is to be done. But the Police Commissioner found instant success in controlling the coverage of the Telangana issue just by holding a press conference and a few strategic phone calls! If media houses accept this for short-term gain, the spectre of this will haunt them in days to come.


Thanks to Ratan Tata, today we have a re-popularised phrase to describe what’s happening not only in our polity but also in our media – Banana Republic! As in a typical banana republic, the media in our democracy are ‘allowed’ by the state to show lumpen entertainment, crime, gore and sex bordering on pornography. When it comes to important political issues like the securitization of large parts of the country in the name of maintaining law and order, corporate-politician nexus that brutally suppresses people’s protests, the state plays a highly proactive role in ensuring that no civil rights groups or media are around to bring alternative perspectives into public view. Denial of the existence of an issue by insulating it from public gaze can only result in bringing untold misery to the people, and escalating it to unmanageable proportions.

For about a week, by turning the Osmania University campus into an open-air prison, and by disallowing any information to come out of the campus, by repeatedly invoking the Cable Regulation Act for this, the state has once again proved itself to be a banana republic and not a mature democracy. The media houses, in their self-interest, do not seem to recognize that it is a banana republic they are helping build and profiting from.


Subsequent to this, partly inspired by the protests of rights groups and senior journalists, the channels have formed a Telugu News Broadcasters’ Association. This was followed a day or two later by the formation of Cable Operators Association. Both the associations have vowed to provide the best possible coverage of the Telangana movement. It would be a great step forward for the Telugu news media if these new initiatives pave the way for independence and self-regulation, Cable Regulation Act or not. Given their entrenched economic and political interests, it is to be seen if media houses can transcend the urges of self-interest to self-regulate and stop playing footsie with the state.

Thanks Amar for Sharing

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Bandh successful as never before!

Life came to a standstill in Telangana on the first day of the 48-hour bandh called by Telangana joint action committee (TJAC) demanding introduction of Telangana Bill in Parliament, as all the government and private services were shut. Educational institutions and commercial establishments remained closed. Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation withdrew most of its services in Telangana.

TRS activists blocked railway tracks at Secunderabad, holding up several long distance trains. Several pro-Telangana activists, including members of the ABVP and TJAC convener M Kodandaram, were arrested near the university when they took out rallies supporting the bandh.
Telangana activists raised walls across NH-7 near Mancherial in Adilabad and had community lunch at Maganur in Mahabubnagar.

Priests of temples boycotted the daily rituals and conducted ‘homams’ on roads in Warangal district in support of statehood for Telangana.

In all, 1,978 persons including several TRS, BJP, TDP, CPI and TJAC leaders and activists were taken into custody.

Running of trains was also affected with trains being detained by Telangana supporters at Mahabubnagar (4), Karimnagar and Adilabad (3 each), Warangal and Ranga Reddy (2 each) and Medak and Nizamabad (1 each).

Coal production to the tune of 1.5 lakh tonnes was hit in Singareni as 65,000 workers went off the work in 36 underground and 140 opencast mines.

Production worth about Rs. 500-crore was affected as about 8,000 industrial units in and around Hyderabad were closed.

Even the Cyberabad was badly affected. Low turnout of employees was seen in most companies because of the non-availability of public transport. Most of the shops and commercial establishments in and around Cyberabad were shut.

Convenor of TJAC M. Kodandaram said that arrests would not cow down the movement and they would intensify it further if the government continued to suppress the people’s wishes. Bandh call was inevitable as the government was not respecting the people’s sentiments, he explained.

In the Assembly

TRS and TDP MLAs forced adjournment of proceedings of the Assembly twice on Tuesday. TRS members stormed the Speaker’s podium holding placards. They demanded that the suspension of five MLAs be revoked and a resolution on the creation of a separate state be adopted by the House.

The TDP MLAs from Telangana raised a similar demand. Deputy Speaker N Manohar disallowed the adjournment motions, but due to the din he had to adjourn the House for 15 minutes.

In the Parliament

KCR has raised the Telangana issue in the Lok Sabha and demanded that the government introduce a Bill for creating Telangana state immediately in Parliament. The TRS has given notice for an Adjournment Motion on Telangana issue on Tuesday. It was disallowed by the Speaker, Ms Meera Kumar. Then, Mr KCR sought permission of the chair to speak on the issue. Mr Meera Kumar while disallowing his request told him that he could raise the issue during the Zero Hour.

Speaking to the media later, Mr Rao said his party wanted to stage a dharna before the Speaker’s podium on Tuesday, but had postponed it to Wednesday. In the meanwhile, he said that he would discuss about Telangana with parties supporting the cause. He said though he had raised the Telangana issue on Tuesday, he would once again raise it in detail on Wednesday in Parliament.

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Political JAC to comeout with a list of Andhra firms to be boycotted.

Telangana JAC convener, Prof. Kodandaram has met the TDP leaders from the Telangana region today. He discussed with them the future course of action of the Telangana JAC. On the occasion, Kodandaram said that the Telangana activists would intensify their agitation from days to come.

He also announced that he would release a list of firms and industries owned by Andhra people to be boycotted by the Telangana people. He said that the list would only have those firms or industries which are owned by people who are known to be against formation of the Telangana state.
He however added that the Telangana activists would not attack these firms.

“We will boycott the services, goods and commodities produced by the rich people from non-Telangana regions who are opposing separate Telangana. We have no issues with the common people whatever their views are on the Telangana demand,”

Meanwhile, leaders of the state-run Singareni Collieries workers unions’ said they have decided to postpone a 48-hour strike scheduled to begin tomorrow as per the advice given by the JAC. The new date will be announced later.

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AP Governor, a ‘thorn in the flesh’ of Telangana

Governor ESl Narasimhan is the real culprit of the fiasco in AP Assembly on 16th February.His autocratic machinations on behalf of Congress ‘adhishtanam’ for the last one year, ably helped by inept and callous andhra administration, have peaked into the imroglio that took place in the Assembly.The responsibility for lowering the dignity of his own office and Assembly squarely rests with the Governor and duly shared by the ineffective CM and Dy.Speaker.It is not the TRS and TDP, as alleged by the motivated andhra politicians and media.


Everybody knows the disposition of this Governor towards Telangana. From the day one he took office in AP,he was indulging in overt and covert actions in trying to stifle ‘Telangana Struggle’. His extraordinary interest in Law and Order,the matters related to students in Telangana Universities, his role in getting more than 20000 Central forces to deploy in Telangana and his obvious support to anti-Telangana all andhra administration, speaks volumes of his animosity towards Telangana.By now it is abundantly clear that Mr.Narasimhan had provided ‘dasha-disha’ to the infamous SKC Report on Telangana, which is proved to be a ‘bundle of half-truths and blatant lies’.All these activities give undeniable credence to the contention that he is a deliberate plant by Congress ‘adhishtanam’ in cohort with ‘andhra money mafia’ to smother Telangana Struggle and extinguish it if possible.


The happenings in the Assembly on 16th February are the climactic results of the scheming of Governor and CM in dealing with Telangana issue. As usual ugly intensions end in ugly consequences and invariably boomerang on the perpetrators.The behavior of Governor and the maneuvres of CM and Dy.Speaker paved the way for the unseemly happenings in the Assembly.


1. When TRS has already given notice to oppose Governor’s speech, if it does not contain reference to Telangana, the CM could have talked to them democratically and amicably persuaded them to cooperte, instead of treating them as un-touchables.


2. If the TRS did not agree, a brief mention of the cintentious issue of Telangana in Governor’s Report as to, that the issue is in the consideration of Cetral Government would have not caused any catastrophe and is not outside the gamut of democratic traditions.A diplomatic appeal to all the concerned to cooperate, would have mollified the feelings of agitating legislators to a large extent and certainly would have not ended in the ugly fiasco.

3.Instead, both Governor and CM have behaved in a manner that mentioning ‘Telangana’ in the speech tantamounts to ‘blasphemy to God’. This attitude, added to their earlier despotic doings in relation to Telangana Struggle have added the fuel to the fire.


4. The undignified behavior of the Governor on that day is very paradoxical.Where was the necessity for him to come through 2nd gate instead if the main gate and flee through the same gate after his bizarre speech? If his cohort the CM can not ensure a dignified entry into or exit from the Assembly for the Governor, what does it indicate? Except that the raison d’etre for the fiasco, rests with these scheming officials..


5. The way Governor was reading his speech in the pandemonium, while his mike was broken and he was jostled around, made a very pathetic spectacle of the institution of Governor.There was no need to make the speech in such weird circumstances. The Governor has read the speech here and there, just to complete the formality and as if his dear life is depended on finishing it. After the speech came the most disgraceful moment, when Governor has uttered the un-parliamentary words of ‘you b******s, get lost! Can any body lower the dignity of Governor on the podium of Assembly more than this? It could be the worst moment in the history of the Assembly.


Therefore by any standard Governor is solely responsible for throwing the dignity of Governor Post to its abysmal depths.The CM and Dy.Speaker have aided him with their inept handling of the situation. Both of them have no right to continue in their positions after this ignominous happening in the Assembly.They have no right to punish any body for their own miserable failure.The Assembly should protest and ensure their ouster.
Now it should be the primary responsibilty of Telangana legislators to account this Governor, for his un-parliamentary words against them.

There is need to examine the avenues of prosecution against him for this fauxpas. There will not be any respite to Telangana if this scheming Governor continues in A.P.Telangana people should target him for all of his anti-Telangana activities and hound him out of the state.He has become an excruciatingly painful ‘thorn in the flesh’ of Telangana.

Thanks Janardhan Janumpalli for sharing


By: Simply Telangana

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We don’t need lessons on democracy : KTR

KTR has today targeted the MIM for advising the TRS members to ‘first learn what democracy is’ in the wake of the disturbances in the Assembly on Feb 17. Speaking at a meeting of the Telangana Private Employees’ Association at Telangana Bhavan, he said the TRS didn’t need lessons on democracy from the MIM. In the first place, the MIM did not believe in democracy.

“Have they forgotten how they targeted Bangladesh writer Tasleema Nasreen and the attack by their partymen on doctors at the Niloufer Hospital?” he asked.

Referring to PCC president D Srinivas describing Feb 17 as a dark day in the annals of the Assembly, Rama Rao wondered what definition he had when his son brandished a revolver at media-persons during the recent by-election in Nizamabad.

The Congress party leadership had humiliated leaders from the Telangana region by not giving them an audience though they were in Delhi for nearly one week. No top Congress leader had given them any assurance on the Telangana issue.

“Only to save their face, they are claiming that the party is seized of the issue,” said Rama Rao.

The Congress MLAs should realise that they had been humiliated at Delhi and join hands with the Telangana organisations to take forward the movement for securing a Telagnana state.

By: Simply Telangana

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5 MLAs suspended. Mallesh sent to Jail.

Mallesh, driver of TRS leader E. Rajender, was sent to jail until March 29 for allegedly hitting Lok Satta president Jaiprakash in the Andhra Pradesh assembly premises the day before. He was produced before Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar, who ordered that he be lodged in jail till the end of the budget session March 29.
Manohar informed the house that an outsider was involved in the attack and it was breach of privilege of the member. He also sought a detailed report on the incident from Hyderabad Police Commissioner A.K. Khan.
A first information report (FIR) was registered on a complaint by legislature secretary Raja Sadaram. Mallesh has been booked under Section 353 of the Indian Penal Code, which relates to assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty.
Many wondered if terming TRS MLAs as anti-social and making sarcastic comments was the duty that he was discharging.
Earlier, five Telangana MLAs including Harish Rao were suspended for seven days for allegedly heckling governor ESL Narasimhan during his address to the House on Thursday.
Interesting part was that educational institutions in Andhra and Raylaseema regions were closed to protest the attack. Students at universities in the Andhra and Rayalseema regions took out “rallies” condemning the incident !

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Why Harish Rao reacted so much?

Ever since the assembly episode, leaving others, everyone wondered why Harish Rao, known to be very patient reacted that way. Harish has been silent on the episode and did not disclose the reasons for his reaction but, when the government pushed away all norms and made selective clippings of the assembly proceedings public, he chose to break his silence.
Speaking to the media, Harish said that the Governor Mr. E.S.L. Narsimhan, had called the agitating TRS and TDP leaders as “bastards” during his joint address on Thursday. He demanded an apology from the Governor and asked why no case had been booked by the Deputy Speaker against the Governor for insulting the MLAs.
With this, one can understand why the TRS and TDP MLAs were so agitated.
Its high time to recall the Governor.


Note : This site has never encouraged abusive language even in comments but chose to publish this news bit only to reveal the kind of language honourable Governor has used against our MLAs.

Take By : Simply Telangana

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Telangana Thadaka : JP gets a beating. Governor faces T – Ire.

A frustated common man today attacked an MLA for testing his patience. Lok Satta Party founder, Kukatpally MLA and self acclaimed intellectual Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan was attacked  in the Assembly premises today. The incident has left him bewildered, and in tears.
The incident occurred when JP was making his way out of a jostling crowd outside the Assembly, at the Media Point. Dr. Narayan has not made any official statement yet, and is said to be contemplating resigning from the Assembly.
Earlier, pro-Telangana MLAs obstructed assembly proceedings on the opening day of the Budget Session, and disrupted the speech of the Governor. Shockingly, he completed his speech in 6 minutes flat !
Reacting to the incident, Rakesh, an RTI activist posted the following on his FB wall.

The holy cow has(read JP) delivered his sermon again. He says telangana employees are forgetting that people are supreme. Well Mr Holy cow, you forgot that long back.
He goes onto talk about the Non-cooperation slated from today. He says, people are supreme and they are the masters and non-cooperation does not serve the purpose. Well Mr Holy cow, this is what Gandhi used against an insensitive Govt, this is what people of egypt did when wanted their leader to bow down. All those qualify to be revolutions. But somehow issues related to telangana however historic they might be, remind this holy cow of his long forgotten adage, ” People are supreme”. Had he followed this, his party’s stand on Telangana would have been crystal clear. Hypocrisy at its best. His party should be renamed HSP (Hypocrites satta party) from LSP.
A historic Non-coperation movement is going to start from today where in people will not cooperate with a govt they dont believe in.

Though we should all condemn the physical attack on a few legislators outside assembly today, comments of JP were totally uncalled for and choosy. He felt that he could not save the constitution only today. But, he never felt this when so many students died for Telangana. He never felt the same when Telangana was looted up side down. Being in Telangana and choosen by Telanganites, one would not expect this from him. When 4 crore people of Telangana have been saying their rights were violated & they need self rule, he thinks only he is right!
On the other side, NBA rules went on a holiday today. All the Seemandhra media were very agile in telecasting this incident more than 200 times. Kudos to them.

take BY: Simply Telangana

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Non-Cooperation starts today. Are you contributing?

More than two lakh government employees of Telangana will be boycotting work from today as part of the non-cooperation movement launched to mount pressure on the state and Central governments to grant statehood to Telangana.
The agenda is not to cooperate with the rest of Andhra Pradesh from today and ensure no work takes place in the region.

“They would go to the office, sign in the register but they would not work. They would absolutely declare non-cooperation. They will not work for this government which is against the interest of the people of Telangana,” said Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leader, KT Rama Rao.

Pro-Telanganites will also be not paying electricity bills, water bills, property tax and will be travelling in buses without buying a ticket. Advocates will not argue their cases before judges from the other two regions.
Sanitary workers from GHMC would join the stir at a later stage.

So, what are you doing as part of the non-cooperation? Share your ideas.

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ఆఫీస్‌కొచ్చినా పనిచేయరు తెలంగాణ డిమాండ్‌తో 17 నుంచి ఉద్యోగుల ఆందోళన సహాయ నిరాకరణ సన్నాహకంగా నేడు ధర్నా అరెస్టయినా ఆగకుండి రెండంచెల నాయకత్వం ప్రత్నామ్న

హైదరాబాద్, ఫిబ్రవరి 10 : తెలంగాణలో సమ్మె వాతావరణం అలముకుంటోంది. ఈ నెల 17 నుంచి మొదలయ్యే 'సహాయ నిరాకరణ' ఉద్యమంలో భాగంగా ఉద్యోగులు ఆఫీసులకు వచ్చినా విధులు నిర్వహించరు. అయితే, ఉద్యమ ప్రభావాన్ని సాధ్యమైన మేర తగ్గించేందుకు ప్రత్యామ్నాయాలపై దృష్టి పెట్టాల్సిందిగా ప్రభుత్వం వివిధ శాఖల అధిపతులను ఆదేశించింది. ఇందులో భాగంగా ఔట్‌సోర్సింగ్, కాంట్రాక్టు ఉద్యోగుల సేవలు వినియోగించుకునేందుకు సన్నాహాలు సాగుతున్నాయి. మరోవైపు ఉద్యమ సన్నాహకాల్లో భాగంగా జంట నగరాల్లోని 10 వేల మంది ఉద్యోగులు శుక్రవారం జీహెచ్ఎంసీ వద్ద 'మహాధర్నా' నిర్వహించనున్నారు.

ప్రస్తుత పార్లమెంటు సమావేశాల్లోనే 'తెలంగాణ' బిల్లు పెట్టాలన్న డిమాండ్‌తో చేపట్టనున్న ఈ ఆందోళన గురించి తెలంగాణ ఉద్యోగ సంఘాల జేఏసీ విస్తృత ప్రచారం నిర్వహిస్తోంది. 'ఒక్క ఫైలు కూడా కదలకూడదు. ప్రభుత్వ సమాచారాలనూ చేరవేసే ప్రసక్తి లేదు. మంత్రుల ప్రోటోకాల్స్, పర్యటనలను పట్టించుకోరాదు' అని ఉద్యోగులకు పిలుపునిచ్చినట్లు జేఏసీ అగ్రనేతలు కె.స్వామిగౌడ్, జి.దేవీప్రసాదరావు, వి.శ్రీనివాస్ గౌడ్, సి.విఠల్ గురువారం విలేకరులకు వెల్లడించారు. సీమాంధ్రకు ఆర్టీసీ బస్సులను నడపవద్దని ఆర్టీసీ కార్మికులకు పిలుపునిచ్చామన్నారు

. ప్రజలు, సీమాంధ్ర ఉద్యోగులు, పార్టీలు తమకు సహకరించాలని వారు విఙ్ఞప్తి చేశారు. అలాగే మంత్రుల, ఉన్నతాధికారుల వాహనాలను నడపరాదని ప్రభుత్వ డ్రైవర్లు నిర్ణయించారు. ప్రజా పంపిణీ వ్యవస్థను పూర్తిగా అడ్డుకోవాలని ఆ శాఖ ఉద్యోగులు భావిస్తున్నారు. ఇక ఇప్పటికే ఉపాధ్యాయులు రెండోదశ జనగణనకు వెళ్లిపోవడంతో తరగతులు సరిగా జరగని నేపథ్యంలో మిగిలిన టీచర్లు కూడా విధులకు నిరాకరిస్తే తమ పరిస్థితి ఏమిటని వచ్చేనెలలో పరీక్షలు రాయడం ఎలాగని విద్యార్థులు ఆందోళన పడుతున్నారు.

ఏదేమైనా పారిశుధ్యంతోపాటు వైద్య, ఆరోగ్య శాఖల్లో అత్యవసర సేవలు మినహా 17 నుంచి పౌర జీవనం స్తంభించనుంది. ఫలితంగా తెలంగాణలో రోజుకు రూ.50 కోట్ల వంతున ప్రభుత్వాదాయం పడిపోయే ప్రమాదం ఉంది. ముఖ్యంగా ఎక్సైజ్ ఉద్యోగులు కూడా ఆందోళనకు దిగుతున్నందువల్ల మద్యంపై వసూళ్లనూ కోల్పోయే పరిస్థితి ఉంది. ఈ నష్టాన్ని నివారించుకునే ప్రయత్నాల్లో భాగంగా ప్రభుత్వం తమను అరెస్టు చేసినా ఉద్యమ ఊపు ఆగకుండా ఎక్కడికక్కడ ద్వితీయ శ్రేణి నాయకులు రంగంలో దిగేలా అగ్రనేతలు వ్యూహం సిద్ధం చేశారు.


take BY: Andhrajyohti

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Should TRS merge with congress?

Telangana state formation is round the corner. The die is cast now. The final configuration is put up through formulations. Congress has a handicap of not having any solid intermediate caste’s support in Andhra. Chiranjeevi, although he can attract these masses, does not have any leadership qualities to keep his flock together. The mutual inadequacies are mopped up by the merger. Chiranjeevi is an intellectual light weight. His samajika Telangana or Samikya andhra are mere gimmicks for his survival. He has no firm conviction on anything. How can a person who has never read a newspaper have one. Erosion of congress caused by jagan will be adequately filled by this chap, though.

Now the heat is turned on to KCR to merge TRS with congress. The congress pygmies of Telangana are commenting on variously. KK says in his jumbled voice that KCR had promised merger a while ago and he will abide by it. MP, Sarve satyanarayana, in safari suit trying to look youthful finds KCR selfish and greedy now, by saying that, TRS is a party of single objective but is now selfishly thinking of ruling Telangana.

Let us see how we should analyse this situation.

First, let us compare chiranjeevi with KCR and his party. KCR goes down in the democratic nation’s history as a person who achieved a socio-political goal of formation of Telangana by relentlessly and adroitly designing a movement ,calibrating and advancing it in an ingenious way. It deserves some PhD dissertations in political and psephological studies. I found a paper written in an American university in California on him. Psychologically speaking, he must have tried to actualise himself and his region in the broader frame work of NTR’s Telugu desam where he was disillusioned by the high handedness of Andhras. He set out for himself and a handful of other people to get Telangana state like Castro and his men did in Cuba. In the last one year he brought the beat to a crescendo initiating it with a fast. He is exclusively calling the shots now. He has set the ball rolling for the finals from 17th Feb with non-cooperation movement. Centre and the state leaders of congress are scurrying for safety and solution before that deadline. Telangana state is inevitable. There may be some fireworks at the closing time though. Comparing him with chiranjeevi is stupid. KCR is a man with a mission. Chiranjeevi is a man in search of a post retirement profession. Then why is congress comparing KCR with chiranjeevi ?

KCR, although not complete and little naïve, has some ideas and understanding on how Telangana has to be reconstructed; but it was not forceful enough. Today, congress is trivialising the existence of TRS as it has not talked enough on how it is going to build Telangana state. He never cited for instance, Mahathir Mohammed who built Malaysia from a wretched backward nation to a front runner. See how David Cameron, Obama visualise the future for their countries. KCR’s repeated utterances of free top class education for every Telangana child and Ganga Jamuna tehhaseeb for Hindu Muslim unity are not sufficient. He has to be more aware of developmental politics and reconstruction politics. He has to learn about how Russia’s ‘Peter the Great’ toured Europe incognito, working as carpenter, to know about the advancement of Western Europe. He might be uttering about making an SC the first chief minister and a Muslim the first deputy chief minister to nullify his upper caste image but that is not enough for the development of the Telangana state. We need fiery youthful leadership from entire community of Telangana with a great sense of urgency and opportunity.

Those who might say that Telangana state is the first priority and development is next are sadly mistaken. Movements have to be built on the dreams of future. We have to show how different Telangana will be if it is an independent state. It is the safeguard agaist native Madhu kodas and jagans emerging in Telangana. One has to talk about the plans and projections of how we are going to create jobs for the millions of Telangana youth and tell about how numbers add up. Keep talking and dreaming to act on something like building a grid of super-fast trains connecting all regions of Telangana and make the rest of Telangana a suburb of Hyderabad reachable in an hour’s time. Through this, make massive economic expansion by making it an industrial, software, agricultural, horticultural and orchard giant. Once I was talking to a Malaysian in line of my job. I asked him what is so special of Mahathir of Malaysia. He said that he thinks big and thinks like a Whiteman.

KCR should learn more; read more, reflect and meditate more about developmental politics, leadership in development; and set bench marks for the future leaders of Telangana state. He should develop policy and models for health, education and welfare, which will depoliticise these areas so that no one will use them as populist measures for vote gathering, as congress and YSR has been doing all along. He should state Telangana state’s position on mines, forests, millions of beedi workers, minimal reservation for the natives in private sector. He should develop fine band of leadership in the cultural and historical ethos of Telangana for the future. There are cooperative socialist models of Chinese market socialism; welfare models of Scandinavia, there are models which prevent crony capitalist’s kleptocratic bureaucracy. As KCR never spoke on these lines but only on electoral calculus to corner congress and force it form Telangana, today congress is asking it to close shop as the mission is going to be accomplished shortly, asking him to follow suit of Chiranjeevi.

No one in congress is capable of realising the dreams of Telangana. It has not grown in the culture of the Telangana movement. It has no stake in Telangana state or its development. TRS merging with it, is like saving Telangana from one set of wolves to give it to another set of wolves. If TRS merges with congress, all the values and dreams of the movement will go down the drain. Today’s TRS is different from pre 2009 dec TRS. KCR and TRS should develop and remain as watch dogs for Telangana as he himself has mentioned. It can do more service to Telangana state by remaining independent than merging with congress. Today, TRS is in a position to swallow congress in Telangana. If it merges with congress the alternative political space will be filled by Telugu desam as time goes by; which will dampen the very spirit of Telangana and keep up the influence “Andhra Babu” and Andhras.

If congress re-announces Telangana before 17th February it will get a bit of credit to move about in Telangana; if it does it after 17th it will be forgotten. Either way Telangana should not care about them, let alone merging with them.

TRS’s existence itself, with more broad-based representation, benchmarks assertion of the nativity of future parties in Telangana as the Dravida Kazagam has done in Tamilnadu. It is important that KCR, be advised on the historicity of TRS and this moment.

On the contrary, if KCR decides to merge TRS with congress it will be a historical blunder similar to merger of Hyderabad state into Andhra.

take by: simplytelangana

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'Jai Bholo Telangana’ in U.S.A

‘Jai Bolo Telangana’, a much awaited movie that is set in the backdrop of recent Telangana and Andhra Agitations is coming to America starting February 04, 2011.

Director N. Shanker, a name to reckon within quality entertainers like Jayam-manadera, Encounter, and Sriramulayya, this time has come up with a film portraying current political scenario in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh.

Some of the actors portrayed in the film are NOT reel life but real life leaders, activists, students, singers, lawyers, and journalists. This movie portrays real life instances and from the perspective all segments of people of Andhra Pradesh.

The film is produced and directed by by N. Shanker under the banner of Mahalakshmi Arts Productions, and Chakri scored the music, which is already a big success.

Ande Sri, Goreti Venkanna, Suddala Ashok Teja, Nandini Sidha Reddy, Gaddar, and K Chandrasekhar Rao penned songs for this movie.

Shanker confined that, Jagapathi Babu plays a Telangana revolutionary named Bandagi Gopanna. “It’s the most memorable character in Telugu cinema and I felt only Jagapathi Babu could do justice to it. When I narrated the story to him, he was impressed and immediately agreed to do the movie. He proved that artistes have no caste, region or religion. Bandagi is a Muslim name and Gopanna a Hindu name. Separate Telangana is the long-felt dream of four crore people following different religions and the character reflects that” Shankar Said in his preparation for the movie. “Jai Bolo Telangana reflects the current political scenario in the State. The “Garadi Chestundru” number written by KCR has become quite a rage. KCR penned a few songs as part of the Dhoom Dhaam campaigns. When I listened to those songs, the thought of having him write a song for the film came to my mind,”

We urge Not only all Telangana NRI’s to show strong solidarity to this movie but also All Telugu speaking individuals to watch the movie with families to understand the current climate in Andhra Pradesh and to. No one will go disappointed from watching this rare glimpse of current life and events in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in Telangana, on the big screen, as it is a rarity for Telugu films to portray real life events with life like people.

Below are the cities the movie will be screened during the first week.

1. Virginia – Phoenix World gate 9, Herndon (us.bigcinemas.com)

2. New Jersey – Big cinemas Movie city 8, Edison (us.bigcinemas.com)

3. Dallas – Hollywood Theatres, Irving (www.gohollywood.com)

4. California – Big cinemas Towne3, San Jose (us.bigcinemas.com)

5. Chicago – Big cinemas Golf Glen, Niles (us.bigcinemas.com)

6. Minneapolis – Brookdale cinema, Brooklyn Park (www.mncinema.com)

7. Atlanta – Big cinemas Peachtree 8, Norcross (us.bigcinemas.com)

Please visit the above websites for show timings. Release date: Friday, February 04, 2011

Note: Dates for other cities will be announced shortly.

Tag: Telangana, Telangana Report, RajNews, eenadu, Sakshi, KCR, AP, NEWS, Imges, Hot Images, Srikrishna Commitee, Jai Bolo telangana

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Opinions differ on Congress – PRP alliance

Differences of opinion exist among the Telangana Congress leaders on the proposed alliance between the Congress and Praja Rajyam Party. Some of them view that it was an indication that the UPA government was not in favour of separate Telangana state, while others opine that the party leadership would want to strengthen the Congress in Seemandhra under the leadership of Chiranjeevi once Telangana state is formed.

Senior Congress leader Uppunuthala Purushotham Reddy today supported CWC member G Venkataswamy’s criticism on the proposed alliance between the Congress and the PRP. He, however, found fault with Kaka for his outburst at Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Talking to newsmen here, Purushotham Reddy argued that the Congress leadership should have consulted Telangana Congress leaders before going ahead to hold talks with Chiranjeevi who was for an state. Are we (Telangana Congress leaders) so useless?, he asked.

The senior leader asserted that time has come for all the Telangana MPs, MLAs and MLCs to resign their posts for Telangana cause. Congress core committee member and defence minister AK Anthony’s meeting with Chiranjeevi gives an indication that the Telangana state may not become a reality,’’ he added.

On the other hand, Nalgonda MP Gutha Sukhender Reddy noted that the proposed alliance between the two parties would help the Congress strengthen its base in Seemandhra region. Congress party would automatically strengthen in Telangana after separate state is formed. Chiranjeevi would abide by the Congress leadership’s decision (on Telangana issue) once he merges his party with the Congress. If he decides to have an alliance with the Congress, then there would be no future for the PRP since it has got no base in Telangana, he reasoned.

BC welfare minister Baswaraj Saraiah welcomed the Congress party’s efforts to forge an alliance with the PRP, and said that it gives an indication towards formation of separate T state.
“Chiranjeevi will have the leadership in Seemandhra region,’’ he opined.

Source: ExpressBuzz

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A chat with Shankar on Jai Bholo Telangana

Director N Shankar’s filmography in Telugu includes Jayam Manadera, Raam, Bhadrachalam, Yamajathakudu to name a few. His films are focused on themes/concepts. He has now helmed Jai Bolo Telangana (releasing on February 4), a film based on the current statehood issue rocking Andhra Pradesh.

Shankar chats about the making of the film which is close to his heart.

Did you make Jai Bolo Telangana to highlight the current political scenario?

Yes, I want to focus on the current problem, the sacrifices made by people. I am depicting the struggle through the eyes of an artiste; through an art form.

How long did it take you to make the film?

On the 30th day ceremony of Srikanth Chari’s suicide (for Telangana), I announced the project. It has taken a year to make the film right from scripting, casting, shooting to post-production and completion.

What is the kind of research you did for the film?

I met people involved with the movement. I saw people’s enthusiasm and sacrifices. The film is shot from the people’s angle. I must say I had the support of all people from all regions of the state while making the film.

What is the format you have used considering the film is based on a serious issue?

It’s a feature film. In the past too, I did concept-based feature films. Jai Bolo Telangana is a realistic film. It’s a running movement and I ran along with it to capture it on film.

How did you choose Jagapathi Babu to play a role in the film?

He has a special appearance of about 15 minutes. He plays a character who sacrificed his life.

Why did you cast Smriti Irani in the film?

She fits the character, plus I wanted to add an element of freshness. She plays a pious, noble character.

What have you tried to convey through the film?

The pain, the human drama, the human relationships, the sacrifices made by the people.

Why were you passionate to make this film? It is said you were ready to even sell your property to make it…

I won’t get another opportunity to record this movement. Even as a child, I used to read about historical figures like Alluri Sitaramaraju and their struggle.

Did you finance the movie on your own?

I did it mostly on my own while some friends also helped out.

The Telangana problem has been simmering for many decades. Do you depict the struggle from the beginning?

The past (events in 1948, 1969, 1997) occupies 10 per cent of the footage, while 90 per cent of the film is based on current footage.

Does Jai Bolo Telangana offer a solution?

One must watch the film to see if it does or not.

Are you expecting any repercussions as a result of the film?

It may not. We have not hurt anybody. We have presented the matter from the people’s point of view. It has shown the sufferers and will touch people when they see it.

The film ran into problems with the Censor Board and was given an ‘A’ certificate. Did you have to compromise?

Yes, I had to compromise to some extent. The Board wanted intellectuals to see the film, hence the ‘A’ certificate.

The movie also stars Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leader K Chandrasekhara Rao and revolutionary ballad singer Gaddar. Gaddar has even sung a song. How did you get them to agree to the film?

The concept of cinema brought them together. I am only an instrument. In fact Gaddar is acting after three decades.

What was K Chandrasekhara Rao’s reaction after seeing the movie?

The reaction was positive. He was moved.

How do you expect the audience to react?

I think it will be positive. It will touch people.

Do you feel a short time of two and a half hours is enough to tell a more than 40 year old struggle?

Yes, it is a short time. It is not easy. Within the limitations of time, we have shown important junctures.

Where did you shoot the film?

I shot in Nagarjuna College (Nalgonda), Osmania and Kakatiya Unviersities and villages in Mahbubnagar, Warangal and Ranga Reddy districts.

Crowds must have thronged the spots where you shot the film. How challenging was it to shoot the film?

I am used to working with the crowds as I did so in my earlier films. It was difficult controlling them but they co-operated and I fulfilled what I wanted to do.

What are your thoughts on Telangana?

My thoughts are reflected in the film.

take By: Simply Telangana

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Telangana- An economic powerhouse in India

The last week of 2010 has been nerve-wracking about the outcome of the SriKrishna Committee report. The committee, strangely has finished its work on time and has submitted the report a day earlier than the deadline.

Regardless the outcome, the demand for placing a bill in the parliament in the Budget session is growing everyday. It is reported that both the UPA chairperson Mrs.Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister, Mr.Manmohan Singh are contemplating the numbers game in case Telangana is formed. Being politically motivated, one can understand their concern. But as heads of a fast growing nation, their fear seems unwarranted. India, as known is a major superpower in the world and the recent trips to India by the heads of the five most powerful countries of US, China, Russia, France and UK only attest to the fact. The Indian economy has been growing at 8% over the few years and is expected to touch 9% this year onwards. That is a great achievement considering the economy of most industrialized countries is in doldrums. Every state in India plays a part in the growth.

The present state of Andhra Pradesh, though claims to be a developed state, actually lags behind in many indicators on national level. Literacy, Infant mortality, Child Marriage are some of the things that Andhra Pradesh lags behind in. These affect the economy in a big way. Since KCR’s fast in November 2009, the government in AP has been ruing the fact that there are no investments in Andhra Pradesh. This is entirely untrue. There have been massive investments in the coastal regions for a glass factory, as well as a new tobacco plant in Guntur. The partiality in attracting the investments to Non-Telangana regions can be seen clearly. The only worth while investment in Telangana is the Hyderabad Metro, which at Rs. 12700 crores is a dud in the making and will be highly loss-oriented.(I’d write up another article on this). Now the question arises as to how Telangana, when formed can be beneficial to Indian economy.

There have been misinformed notions that since Telangana is land locked country, and has no ports Telangana cannot develop. Apart from this the, dry barren land does not evoke positive responses from agriculturists. But then many forget that the rightful share of Telangana waters are diverted to coastal andhra and rayalaseema. The people here have to depend on tubewells, borewells for the available scanty water. Somehow in spite of this Telangana sustains agriculture and Karimnagar, Warangal rank amongst the top agricultural districts in the state. If we get our share of water, we can only imagine the extent of agriculture in this region. In terms of agriculture, Telangana has a great scope for development. As always, a state which is agriculturally developed, grows economically as well.

Industrialization is another thing that drives an economy. Along with agriculture, industries are also the important factor of economy. Prior to the merger with Andhra, there was no dearth of industrialization in Telangana. We could boast of housing Asia largest sugar factory amongst others. The condition of the industries which grew under the patronage of Nizam, is now in dire straits. Some have been sold out, while some await similar fate. There is a scope to bring these industries back online and provide jobs. There is a talk of a wagon building work shop in Kazipet in Warangal district. At the present rate one can expect the jobs to be taken over by seema-andhra candidates. But in Telangana, that will not be the case.

The present population of Telangana constitutes of over 60% as under 20 years. So that is a lot of work force. Sadly, due to loss of their jobs to illegal immigrants, many prefer to work at other places for a substandard living. As has been told before, a separate state of Telangana is a remedy for this. Apart from this, increased work force also increases the standard living, which means higher taxable income and higher tax revenues, which ultimately results in higher state income. Since the tax revenues is part of the state expenditure, we get to enjoy what we pay for, unlike now, where the state budget is diverted of to non-telangana regions. In addition to this there is a budget allocation from the central government. Contrary to the popular belief, it is not the size of the state that decides that share of the allocation, it is the state’s contribution towards the central pool. for example, Mumbai being a city has a larger budget than Haryana, because and a larger central government allocation, because it contributes nearly 23 % of India’s income. Similarly Telangana’s increased economy will only help the central governments allocation.

Hyderabad, in the heart of Telangana, is a major city in India. Again repeated claims of its development by the government of AP is not exactly correct. Apart from being a major IT destination, Hyderabad has a lot to claim. Even in terms of IT exports, it occupies third position in India behind Bengaluru and Chennai. Along with these two cities, Hyderabad is part of the Golden triangle of IT. Pune is now breathing down on Hyderabad for the third position. Apart from making it a concrete jungle and paying no heed to its history, the Andhrites have only damaged the city rather than their claims of developing it. Sadly, today this city is known more for its scams, drug cases and murders than the good ones.

As the capital of Telangana, Hyderabad has the opportunity not only to develop itself, but also its neighbouring areas. The major towns, (Warangal, Karminagar, Nizamabad, Tandur, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda etc) which are also district headquarters are about 100 kms to 150 kms or just over two hours away from Hyderabad. No other capital city in India can boast of this sort of congregation. Any investment can be spread around these areas, creating jobs in new avenues. This will also mean that there won’t be an additional strain on the capital city. These cities are all wonderfully interconnected by a good network of roads. Apart from this Hyderabad is about 700 kms away from Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. With this sort of geographical connectivity, Hyderabad has a great chance for development.

It all comes down to good governance and people’s ability to bring the best out the government. This is an example i always mention when i talk about people’s pressure on Government. In the year 2006, the Indian railways decided to change the colour of many station buildings around India. In chennai, the station building which was brick red in colour was changed to a light shade of brown. The people, who treat the building as an icon, did not approve of this and pressurised the board and the government to revert the station back to its old colours. A similar thing was done with Secunderabad railway station where its colour was changed to blue from its earliest brick red. But there were hardly any repercussions. Nobody cared. This sort of attitude should not be practiced in democracy and in Telangana we need to bring the government to books to fulfill its obligations.

These are some of the perfect ingredients for a great Telangana economy. A great state is good for a burgeoning economy. As of now Andhra Pradesh is paralysed and it is an hurdle in the growth of India.

Our Prime Minister, being a noted economist, should be aware of this.

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Telangana The seventh option

THE PREVIOUS SIX OPTIONS
	1. Maintain status quo in Andhra Pradesh		2. Seemandhra and Telangana, with Hyderabad as a Union Territory and two separate capitals for the new states		3. Rayala-Telangana and coastal Andhra, with Hyderabad an integral part of Rayala-Telangana
	4. Seemandhra and Telangana with an enlarged Hyderabad metropolis as a separate Union Territory with extended Hyderabad territory		5. Telangana and Seemandhra, with Hyderabad as capital of Telangana and Seemandhra to have a new capital		6. United Andhra Pradesh and the creation of a statutory empowered Telangana Regional Council

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Telangana The seventh option

According to Tehelka.com, its an Yes.

IN a new twist to the Telangana issue, the Centre is considering a seventh option that it hopes would be accepted by the parties warring over this vexing problem. The seventh option has a few radical measures and draws on other measures suggested previously in the report of the Committee for Consultation on the Situation in Andhra Pradesh. The committee was headed by former Supreme Court Justice BN Srikrishna and it offered six options, which many pro-Telangana organisations have not accepted.

The previous six options were: maintaining status quo in Andhra Pradesh; bifurcating the state into two, Seemandhra and Telangana, with Hyderabad as a Union Territory and two separate capitals for the new states; bifurcation into two, Rayala-Telangana and coastal Andhra regions, with Hyderabad an integral part of Rayala-Telangana; bifurcation into Seemandhra and Telangana with an enlarged Hyderabad metropolis as a separate Union Territory with extended Hyderabad territory; bifurcation into Telangana and Seemandhra according to existing boundaries with Hyderabad as capital of Telangana and Seemandhra to have a new capital; and keeping Andhra Pradesh united and creating a statutory empowered Telangana Regional Council (TRC).

Most parties did not like these recommendations. Congress MPs especially made dramatic requests to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who headed a group on Telangana in the past. Convinced that it needs another option, the Congress leadership began putting a new solution together.

“We have firmed up our mind on this as a possible way out. This would be discussed with Congressmen first. Once they concur, the Centre will get other parties in Delhi to agree to this. A similar exercise in Andhra Pradesh would follow,” said a highly placed source in the know. This source did not want to be named because the information was of a sensitive nature

Key aspects of the seventh option are:
• Chief Ministership or Deputy Chief Ministership to a politician who has been elected from the Telangana region
• Key ministerial posts for representatives elected from Telangana
• Establishment of a statutory and empowered TRC with adequate transfer of funds, functions, and functionaries
• Appointing an MLA as chairman of the TRC with the rank and status of a Cabinet minister
• Separate secretariat for the council headed by an officer of the level of additional chief secretary
• Formation of an apex committee headed by the governor to settle legislative disputes, if any, between the TRC and the AP government
• Constitutional amendment as early as March to form the TRC, provided there is consensus on the seventh option
• Freedom to the council and the people of Telangana to review the TRC’s relevance after 15 months
• Freedom to the people of Telangana to develop the region on the lines of coa-stal Andhra, by letting the TRC continue
• Freedom to the council and the people of Telangana to bifurcate into the states of Telangana and Seemandhra, should they be unhappy with the TRC’s work
• Assurance from the Congress leadership to make Hyderabad the capital of a Telangana state and develop a new capital for Seemandhra, in such an eventuality

Apparently, the seventh option gives 15 months for the TRC because Assembly election is due in Andhra Pradesh in 2014. In essence, the seventh option avoids the tough choices of bifurcation or unity for the moment. It intends to provide an immediate solution by keeping the option of a Telangana open until 15 months later.

The Centre is cagey about Telangana because anything it does here could be interpreted as a template for the 20 other demands for new states pending with the Union home ministry. The Congress-led UPA government had indicated in 2004 where it stands on this by including it in its Common Minimum Programme.

It is likely that the Congress might offer Deputy Chief Ministership to a Telangana politician because the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is barely two months in the job. There are also indications that it might be difficult to undo a council once the Constitution is amended for it. However, the Congress leadership is understood to have indicated that Constitutional amendments can in turn be amended if so required.

The success of the seventh option, sources say, depends on the use of water and irrigation. Therefore, the seventh option offers to establish an independent Water Management Board to ensure fair and equitable distribution of water and irrigation resources. Such a board shall also scrutinise schemes and projects and recommend budgetary requirements.

The seventh option also suggests that the State Irrigation Development Corporation could be reconstituted on a similar pattern. According to the sources, the seventh option is also gaining ground because it enables the Centre to control the devolution of powers and avoid en masse transfer of power to weak states as had happened with Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

The seventh option, sources say, could halt the violent protests in Andhra Pradesh. The Congress leadership is expected to throw open the option to its MPs and MLAs from Telangana from the third week of January. The target is to establish the Telangana Regional Council by the end of March, the sources say.

This, it is being hoped, might open avenues to solve long-pending demands for Gorkhaland in West Bengal, Bodoland in Assam, Vidarbha in Maharashtra, Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal, and Harit Pradesh in Uttar Pradesh, and Ladakh, Jammu, and Kashmir in Jammu and Kashmir.

The original article can be found here

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Censor refuses to clear Jai Bholo Telangana!

The Central Board for Film Certification has refused to clear Jai Bolo Telangana because it, according to them, contains some sarcastic remarks against the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and several Seema-Andhra leaders.

The Censor Board raised objections to the comments against Mrs Gandhi and they also felt that the film might trigger animosities between the two regions again. With the Censor Board members differing on giving certification, the film been referred to a revising committee which will view it again.

Besides actor Jagapathi Babu, the film also has cameos by politicians including the TRS chief, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Telangana JAC chairman, Prof. Kodandaram, and other T-leaders.

The Censor Board decision has angered Telangana activists, TRS leaders and OU and Kakatiya University students who warned that if Jai Bolo Telangana was not cleared they would not allow other Seemandhra films to be screened.

The director of the film, Mr N. Shanker, held discussions with the Censor Board members but refused to accept their instructions to delete some scenes. “They haven’t disclosed the objections,” he told mediapersons. “The film does not promote hatred. It is based purely on the problems of Telangana, its people, its culture and the injustices done to the region.”

Meanwhile, Mr Komireddy Krishna Vijay Azad, member of the CBFC, accused Seemandhra members of the board of bias against Jai Bolo Telangana. “It is strange that Seemandhra director Ram Gopal Verma’s Rakta Charitra was cleared but Jai Bolo Telangana is being rejected,” he alleged.

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