SC judgment spurs revival of Telangana movement
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has decided to launch a peaceful agitation from next week to achieve its goal of a separate state. However, the TRS workers will not hesitate to face bullets if the government attempts to suppress the movement.
Announcing the new phase of the movement, TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao, who has been lying low after the electoral rout of his party in May, said the party will launch the new phase at a public meeting in Medak district on October 21 followed by a week-long mobilisation of the cadres from division-level which will culminate in a “jail bharo” programme on October 28.
The immediate reason for the revival of the issue of a separate Telangana is the Supreme Court judgment of last week making Hyderabad city a “free zone” for recruitment of police, meaning the six-point formula, a guarantee given by the Centre, to protect the interests of people of Telangana in government recruitment will not be applicable in Hyderabad zone. The TRS has said it will file a writ in the SC appealing against the decision.
The government, too, has called for an all-party meeting on Monday to discuss the implications of the judgment. The TRS is also demanding equal share for Telangana in Krishna waters and wants the region’s share to be specified and allocated.
Rao said the interests of the people of Telangana could be protected only by amending the Constitution.
To put pressure on the Congress governments both at the Centre and in the state to grant statehood to the region, the TRS will intensify its struggle, he said.
