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Even as the Justice Srikrishna Committee submitted its report to home minister P Chidambaram,the latter announced that the contents would be made public on January 6 after a meeting with the 8 recognised political parties of Andhra Pradesh. We have given the way forward.We have said what is to be done.There are many options, member secretary of the committee Vinod K Duggal,a former Union home secretary,said refusing to give details. Chidambaram said the government will consider the report carefully and begin the process of consultations with all political parties before taking appropriate decisions on the report.That is the only way in a democracy and those who respect democracy must also respect the processes of democracy, he said. The report is in two volumes.It will be carefully studied by the ministry of home affairs and will be shared with the ministries or government departments concerned.The government has great faith in the wisdom,maturity and tolerance of the people of Andhra Pradesh, he added.
The home minister said all political parties and groups had given an assurance that they would maintain peace,harmony and law and order.We welcome and believe these assurances. He said that he had noted that there was some concern about the deployment of security forces. Let me assure the people of Andhra Pradesh that the deployment of security forces is a purely precautionary measure.They will remain in the force headquarters or police stations as a reserve force.
The seven-point terms of reference announced by the Centre on February 12 has mandated the Justice Srikrishna Committee to examine the situation in Andhra Pradesh with reference to the demand for a separate state of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of united Andhra. The Srikrishna Committee was set up in February to study,among other things,the situation in Andhra Pradesh in the aftermath of the agitation for a separate Telangana state and the counter-protests that virtually crippled the state for weeks.
Reacting to the submission of Srikrishna report,the Congress hoped that government would take an appropriate decision after taking political parties into confidence. Congress is not against smaller states including Telangana.Srikrishna Committee has submitted its report.We hope government will take political parties into confidence and take an appropriate action,party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told reporters. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said her party supported the carving out of a new state from AP.We are eagerly looking forward to formation of a separate Telangana state, she posted on her Twitter account.Agencies
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FORCES GUARD SECRETARIAT - Ministers fear Prez rule in AP
Uncertain ministers of the Andhra Pradesh government apprehend that if the government does not handle the Telangana issue well enough,Presidents rule could well be imposed in the state.This issue figured prominently during the cabinet meeting held on Thursday a few hours before the Srikrishna Committee submitted its report to the Centre. In fact,the cabinet meeting began with a note of caution sounded by chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy who reiterated the Centres direction to party leaders,including ministers and legislators,not to make any comment before the media on the Srikrishna Committee report.
But interestingly,the meeting also witnessed some differences of opinion among the ministers on how to handle the law and order situation that could arise in the state post the Srikrishna committee report.The fear of violence breaking out was clearly evident as the government deployed paramilitary forces even outside the main gate of the Secretariat.Barricades and barbed wire were placed near the entrance road of the Secretariat and frisking and checking operations were intensified.
Roads & buildings minister Dharmana Prasada Rao expressed the opinion that the government should deal firmly with the situation.Else,the minister said,Presidents rule could be a reality in the state.This sparked protests from some ministers from the Telangana region.They felt use of force could instigate students and flare up the situation further.Rao tried to clarify that while allowing agitations to be taken up in a democratic manner,no one,be it from the Seemandhra or Telangana region,should be allowed to indulge in violence and cause damage to government and public property.The chief minister is learnt to have intervened and pacified both the sides by saying that the government had deployed forces only to maintain law and order.The forces were not meant to suppress any democratic form of protest,he said.
At the same time,he asked the I&PR minister D K Aruna to remind the media,particularly the electronic media,about the guidelines issued by the National Broadcasting Association and appeal to them to be judicious in reporting.
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Armed men swarm city roads at night - Paramilitary Men Give Citizens The Jitters
A posse of armed paramilitary force personnel have surfaced on important roads in the city,particularly in the late evening hours,putting barricades at junctions and peering into vehicles suspiciously before allowing them to pass.If denizens were only speculating trouble following the submission of Srikrishna Committee report,they now say the strong police presence is now adding a sense of fear. The presence of paramilitary force personnel during late night hours not just in the trouble spots of last year,but other areas such as Hi-Tec City,Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills is giving denizens tense moments.At the KBR Park-Banjara Hills junction,for instance,the posse of armed personnel barricading the road led to a traffic jam at midnight making many wonder if trouble had already broken out.The checks being conducted at Greenlands junction,Begumpet,leading to a similar jam had motorists suddenly becoming alert to a possible problem ahead on the road.
While there is no trouble yet,the city is dealing with more personnel than it needs.Former DGP R K Ragala says now that the forces are here in such large numbers,they need to be used and hence are being deployed even in areas that were peaceful last year. Currently,there are 18 companies deployed across Hyderabad and five in Cyberabad.Police reason that the deployment across the city,even in peaceful areas,has been done to flaunt the force to denizens.Officials say that too much police presence around Osmania University could instigate students,so they have been used at several other places along with the regular police for night time nakabandi.
Deploying the forces at key places has worked,according to the city police.Nearly 800 cases of drunken driving or driving without documents were registered in one zone alone.The paramilitary force,used otherwise for counter-insurgency,anti-terrorists measures or for containing communal tension,even helped catch thieves and vehicle-lifters apart from busting a pickocketing gang. We have to tone down their reaction level, DGP K Aravinda Rao said at a press conference on Thursday,reasoning why they were being used along with the city police.
But people in the city are perturbed.While many believe that the police presence is reassuring,others wonder just what this fear is about. For starters,the content of the Srikrishna Committee report would be made public only on Jan 6 so immediate trouble following its submission appears unlikely. Besides, there are political signals that indicate there wouldnt be trouble with the party in focus,TRS,repeatedly saying that irrespective of the committees recommendations,the Centre should table a bill in Parliament in the budget session starting February paving the way for a separate state. Most importantly,those following the agitation closely say it wasnt as big last year to merit this police presence.For those like M Bharat Bhushan who have not only seen the 2009-10 agitation and the one that played out on the streets of Hyderabad in 1969 find this response unwarranted.The problems are not so unexpected and people are prepared so it doesnt warrant this kind of paramilitary force, he says.
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(source-toi)
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