T sentiment temporary

A 10-member delegation of Seemandhra Congress MPs told Srikrishna committee on Thursday that there was no truth in the claims of Telangana protagonists that the sentiment for a separate state was very strong. If there are any grievances,they should be discussed and resolved.It does not call for bifurcation of the state, the MPs team told the panel. Talking to the media after a two-hour meeting, Congress MP K Sambasiva Rao,said that some selfish elements had raked up T movement for personal gains. The Union ministers belonging to Seemandhra region,he said,will meet the committee separately and express their opinion on the issue. Rao said that they had told the committee that the degree of sentiment for separate state was not uniform in the region.They contended that a glance at the election results in the last decade indicates that the base of TRS,which spearheaded Telangana movement,was limited to some pockets in north Telangana region.The party had even lost its deposit in 2009 assembly election in entire south Telangana.

In Hyderabad,Ranga Reddy and Khammam districts which accounts for 39 assembly constituencies,the T sentiment was totally absent, they told the committee. In Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar,which accounts for 26 assembly constituencies,the T sentiment varied from 10 to 50 per cent during the elections,they said. Their report also stated that the TRS vote share in Telangana was gradually declining from 20 per cent in 2001 local body elections to 16.7 per cent in 2004 assembly election and then to a meagre 9.9 per cent in 2009 general election.TRS even did not contest Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections in 2009,the Seemandhra legislators told the panel.

It is only after the December 9 statement made by Union home minister P Chidambaram on initiating the process of separate Telangana that the demand for separate state reached a new crescendo and political parties are trying to cash in by whipping up sentiments.These emotions are temporary and would subside soon,the report added. According to the MPs,if the demand for separate T state was accepted then every district will demand a separate state.

Self-respect can never be a valid scientific reason for dividing a state.The T movement has been instigated by dominant castes as they lost feudal privileges after the integration of state.The formation of Telangana will not only cause a lot of political instability but will jeopardise the security and development of the region,they added.

MEETING OVER: A delegation of Seemandhra MPs comes out after meeting members of the Srikrishna committee in the city on Thursday
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(source-toi)