Last-ditch efforts go in vain for Seemandhra leaders -No Going Back On T Promise,Sonia Tells Seemandhra Mantris

New Delhi: Hours before the start of the UPA coordination committee meeting on Tuesday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi delivered a hard blow to the Seemandhra leaders,who met her in a last-ditch effort to stall the bifurcation of the state. The team of Seemandhra leaders consisting of Union ministers V Kishore Chandra Deo,M M Pallam Raju,Kavuri Sambasiva Rao,D Purandeswari, K Chiranjeevi,Panabaka Lakshmi and J D Seelam,accompanied by many party MPs,met Sonia at 10 Janpath to impress upon her the negative fallout on the development of the state after the division.The exercise proved futile with Sonia refusing to reconsider the decision on Telangana. The Congress president told the leaders that the party could not go back on its commitment at this stage and that the decision had been arrived at after a long process of consultations.We have to keep in mind the sentiments of the people of Telangana.We have already taken a decision on the matter.This is our commitment, she is said to have told the leaders,assuring them that no harm would be done to the Seemandhra region.

Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde expressed a similar view when the Seemandhra leaders called on him later.The Telangana demand has been pending for over 56 years.We have to address the matter without hurting the sentiments of the Seemandhra region, Shinde told them. The leaders also met Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi and apprised him of the apprehensions of the people of the region.However,nobody in Delhi attached much importance to their views as the decision was arrived at after prolonged consultations with leaders,parties and people of all the regions in the state.Disappointed at the response,Seemandhra leaders closeted themselves with chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy in Andhra Pradesh Bhavan for a long time.After the meeting,the chief minister left to meet Shinde,AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Meanwhile,in Hyderabad,ministers from the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions announced that they would meet on Wednesday to devise their strategy to face the division of the state. Investment, infrastructure and ports minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao,minor irrigation minister T G Venkatesh and law minister Erasu Pratap Reddy,said that they had already sent a letter to the party president stating that they would not hesitate to resign if the state was divided.Ganta told reporters at the Congress Legislature Party office here that the ministers would fight till the last minute to keep Andhra Pradesh united. Erasu Pratap Reddy said that any move to split Rayalaseema would destroy the identity of the region.He said that the leaders of Rayalaseema were insisting that a greater Rayalaseema state be formed if the state is divided.


We have to keep in mind the sentiments of the people of Telangana.We have already taken a decision on the matter.This is our commitment
(Source-toi)

KEY PLAYERS

Some political leaders over the years have breathed life into a waning Telangana movement and others have spearheaded a massive campaign to draw the attention of the world towards a struggle that has spanned over several decades.TOI takes a look at the contribution of some of the key players,whose role at various points finally paved the way for Telangana  KALVAKUNTLA CHANDRASEKHAR RAO (59) TRS president KCR is credited with breathing life back into Telangana movement after 30 years in 2000.As the dynamics of state politics changed after YSRs death in September 2009,KCR launched his fast unto death in November 2008 to press for separate state.It fast culminated into the then Union Home minister P Chidambaram announcing that the Centre would initiate the process of carving out Telangana out of AP,on December 9 2009,before backtracking again.But KCR took the issue up on 23 December 2009,and launched Telangana Political Joint Action Committee (TJAC),which later saw pro-Telangana parties like TRS,BJP and New Democracy becoming constituent members.A wily politician,KCR,was able to split Congress and pulled out a couple of MPs to his side while offering a merger of TRS with the grand old party M KODANDARAM (59) A political science professor,M Kodandaram,with a background of civil liberties movement is a proponent of Telangana.Apart from being the academic face of T movement,he gave the much-needed traction by leading movements like Sakalajanula Samme and Million March for T.Playing the role of binding factor between the self-centered political parties like TRS and BJP,Kodandaram,a JNU product has been credited with making the Telangana voice heard in Delhi S JAIPAL REDDY (71) Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy,who has been the man behind the scene on Telangana,a seasoned politician and real mentor for T Congress leaders,went vocal from the beginning.While his camp members,including K Jana Reddy and Ponnala Lakshmiah held the T flag high,Jaipal earned ire of the Congress high command for allegedly fanning trouble,when all partymen were asked to remain mum on T.His ego clash with CM Kiran Kumar Reddy even cost him his petroleum portfolio and was shifted to science and technology portfolio K KESHAVA RAO (75) Former PCC president K Keshava Rao,angered over denial of RS seat in 2012,fanned T sentiments,quit Congress and lured two party MPs to TRS in June this year.This is seen as one of the main factors that forced Congress to hasten decision on T D SRINIVAS (64) Seen to be close to Sonia Gandhi,former PCC chief D Srinivas pulled the strings in Congress and was instrumental in organizing a mammoth rally at Nizam College Grounds on June 30 which not only showed Cong strength in Telangana region,but also convinced the Congress high command on the importance of the issue K JANA REDDY (67) Senior most in Kiran Kumar cabinet,Jana Reddy is credited to have lent a mature leadership to T Congressmen who were otherwise restive with party being unsure on statehood issue.His organisational skills earned accolades during the Nizam College rally,while his diplomacy appears to have moved party high command to finally take a call on Telangana C DAMODAR RAJANARASIMHA (54) Deputy CM C Damodar Rajanarasimha was the one who represented Telangana in Congress Core Committee meet on July 12,and is credited to have pitched for the separate state as against the powerful arguments in favour of the united AP put forth by CM Kiran Reddy and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana.While CMs attractive financial package for T and a roadmap to keep state united appeared to have almost convinced party leaders,it was the Damodars 11-page report that is believed to have convinced Sonia to take a decision in favour of T G KISHAN REDDY (49) State BJP chief G Kishan Reddy contributed his bit to T movement by his protests.He launched the Telangana Poru Yatra earlier this year,and travelled across the region to mobilize masses,launched fasts in Hyderabad and Delhi to draw nations attention K NARAYANA ( 87) CPI state secretary K Narayana launched protests tours across Telangana earlier this year.Keeping equal distance from TRS and BJP,CPI contributed in its own way to T movement

(Source-toi)

Telangana: A reluctant partner in unified AP - T Had Played No Part In Stir For AP in 53

Telangana has been a reluctant partner in the unified state of Andhra Pradesh. After the police action, Operation Polo in September 1948 to annex the Nizams state into the Indian union, Hyd remained a separate political entity with parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra.When the proposal to divide the states on linguistic lines was mooted,public feeling in the region was against the move. On June 16,1952, a motion in the Hyderabad Legislative Assembly to dismember the state was defeated by 79 votes to 63. The Hyderabadis (mulkis) feared exploitation in the future Andhra Pradesh.Telangana played no part in the agitation to create the state of Andhra in 1953,composed of the Telugu-speaking districts of Madras state. When the States Reorganization Committee (SRC) was set up,the mood in the Congress national leadership was in favour of retaining Hyderabads separate identity and using the Urdu tradition to propagate Hindi in south India.However,the demand from the Andhra region to create AP as a Telugu state by merging Hyderabad state with Andhra got support from certain powerful sections of Telangana.

The commission,thus,rejected the idea that Hyderabad should remain undivided as a real cultural synthesis and an intermingling of Indian people. The argument put forth by the pro-integration lobby was that the backwardness of Telangana could be solved if these areas were merged with more advanced parts. The commission concluded that the unification of Telangana with Andhra,though desirable,should be based on a voluntary and willing association of the people and that it is primarily for the people of Telangana to take a decision about their future. The committee recommended that the Telangana area be constituted into a separate state with provision for its unification with Andhra after the general elections likely to be held in or about 1961 if by a two-thirds majority the legislature of Hyderabad state expresses itself in favour of such unification. This period of five or six years could be utilized to bring the administration of the two states in sync with each other and allow opinion in Telangana to crystallize.However,when the state of Andhra Pradesh was created,certain vocal sections of the Congress party in Andhra and Telangana ignored the opposition that was not organized.The opposition resulted in the separate movement first in 1969 and later in 1999.

ALL SMILES: TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao with party leader K Keshava Rao in Hyderabad on Tuesday      
(Source-toi)                    

Brand Hyderabad to dazzle with T rise

With the sun finally setting on the longdrawn T-uncertainty,Brand Hyderabad is set to shine once more and brighter at that. Industry experts feel that the decision to divide Andhra Pradesh will put Hyderabad firmly back in the saddle as a global IT/ITeS hub,as it was primarily the political uncertainty that had helped Bangalore and Chennai cash in on Hyderabads T-woes in the past four years rather than any actual limitations of Hyderabad. The overwhelming feeling is that the division will finally lure back investors,who were having second thoughts and Hyderabad,which has always been the crown jewel of Andhra Pradesh (accounting as it does for 55% of the states total Rs 70,000 crore revenue on the back of the IT/ ITeS sector),will continue to dazzle as a services hub. The city is home to over 1,300 global IT& ITeS players and accounts for over 90% of the states Rs 40,000 crore plus IT/ITeS exports with nearly five lakh jobs.

What has worked for Hyderabad is its excellent infrastructure be it roads like the outer ring road,or IT parks and SEZs. The Hitec City-Gachibowli-Manikonda area already boasts of the whos who of the global IT arena with players like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Infosys, Wipro, Yahoo!, HSBC, Dell, Amazon, among others and none of them will be going anywhere. Once the uncertainty is resolved, they may actually kick off those expansions that many of them had put on hold. It will mark the end of tough times for Hyderabad.The city will bounce back,its image stronger and the IT sector too will stage a comeback.After all,Hyderabads infrastructure is streets ahead of other cities like Chennai and Bangalore, says BVR Mohan Reddy, chairman and promoter of homegrown IT giant Infotech Enterprises,pointing out how it takes over two hours to go from one place to other in Bangalore while in Hyderabad the ride from the airport to the city takes just about 45 minutes.

The secret of Hyderabads success has been its superior infrastructure and talent availability.It has good roads,academic institutions,manpower pool,power etc to ensure its continued success as an IT/ITeS hub, pointed out a top IT honcho. In the peak of the T-agitation in 2009-10,Nasscom president Som Mittal too had said Hyderabad had nothing to be worried about because as long as it has talent in abundance the industry is here to stay. IT/ITeS apart,the recent decision of the state government to lift the ban on the expansion of pharma units in and around the city vide a GO too will ensure that the pharma sector,which had started charting expansion plans in coastal Andhra destinations like Vizag,will continue to thrive in the Telangana region. However,Dr Reddys Labs chairman GV Prasad feels that despite the recent GO, it may be a tad difficult for players to continue driving major expansions in Hyderabad due to its urban nature.

THE GLITTERING CYBER CITY       

(Source-toi)                   

Merger after T bill passage: KCR

It is not yet time to celebrate as the objective of a separate Telangana state has not yet been achieved, said TRS president K Chandrashekar Rao on Tuesday after the CWC resolved to carve out a separate state. KCR, who sought to take the fight to the next stage with  emand of introducing a bill on the statehood in Parliament, said the merger of his party with the Congress could be considered only after Parliament passes the bill. We are not into celebrations yet.It is just the first step that the Congress has taken in favour of Telangana.Telangana state would be a reality only when the bill is passed in both houses of Parliament, said KCR. The TRS chief recalled that the UPA government had once retracted from Union home minister P Chidambarams announcement on creation of a separate state. They can backtrack any moment and we cannot trust the Congress.So,we have to still strive hard to push the government to introduce the bill, he said.

KCR had earlier said that he would merge his party with the Congress if the latter ensured statehood to Telangana.KCR had many times said that the TRS would merge with the Congress.Now,it is up to him to take the decision, AICC general secretary in charge of AP affairs Digvijay Singh said on Tuesday while briefing the media after the CWC meeting.However,KCR maintained that it was premature to say anything now,but added the he would never go back on his words.I am a man of my word and would never go back on a promise.However,the only thing is that we need clarifications on certain issues,including the timeframe for the passage of the Tbill.The politburo of our party will take the decision at an appropriate time, he said.

Sharad Pawar (Union agriculture minister) has assured that the bill would be passed during the monsoon session.I hope it will be done, KCR said. The TRS chief welcomed the idea of making Hyderabad the joint capital for 10 years and said he wished the transition process would be smooth.He assured the people of Seemandhra settled in Telangana that there was no need to worry.KCR visited the Gun Park near the assembly building to pay homage to those who lost their lives to the cause of Telangana.

TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao pays tributes to the late Jaishankar at Telangana Bhavan
(Source-TOI)

CONG SAYS JAI TELANGANA - Hyderabad To Remain Joint Capital For 10 Yrs

New Delhi: The Congress leadership bit the Telangana bullet on Tuesday. It decided to bifurcate A P to create a separate state of Telangana a move that will be a loss to the politically muscular state but will be a gain for the Congress as its expected to revive the partys fortunes in the state ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. As reported exclusively by TOI on July 29,Hyderabad will remain common capital of the splintered states for 10 years a balancing act that recognizes Telanganas claim on the city but seeks to soften the blow to the opponents who were also concerned about the investments of coastal Andhra businesses in the capital.The Centre will help Andhra Pradesh build a new capital.
There are indications that a mechanism will be created to vest the Governor with oversight of law and order in the city: an arrangement that falls short of turning the city into a U T but reassures those worried about a sudden change in its character. The call on whether to include 2 districts of R/seema region,Anantapur and Kurnool,will be taken later.The Congress leadership favours the idea but is wary of committing itself before fully assessing the fallout.

The desire to do well in Telangana region appears to be the main driver behind Tuesdays decision. While announcing CWCs decision,Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh triggered speculation of a merger of TRS with Congress.Singh recalled TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Raos declaration that he would merge his party with Congress if the latter created Telangana.Pieces of the puzzle were fast falling in place when TRS chief Chandrasekhar Rao said that he was a man of his word. Political circles estimate that the Congress calculation is to sweep the Telangana region which has 17 Lok Sabha seats in alliance with TRS.The numbers of Lok Sabha seats which the party can hope to win will swell to 21 if the districts of Anantapur and Kurnool are clubbed with Telangana: a huge improvement for the party which had appeared headed for a washout in the state. Giving its nod to the division after consultations with UPA partners,the CWC said that the Centre should take steps to form a separate state of Telangana.It further said that the Centre should institute a mechanism to address concerns of Andhra and R/seema on sharing of river waters,power and security of citizens.

WHAT NEXT
1. GoM will be set up to consider issues like territorial boundaries and status of Hyd as joint capital

2. GOM recommendations go to cabinet in form of a bill

3.After Cabinet approval,home ministry will send bill to President for consent

4. President under Art 3 will seek opinion of state legislature

5. Once legislature gives its opinion,President will approve bill for introduction in Parliament

6. Parliament needs to approve the bill by simple majority

7. President then gives assent to legislation and Indias 29th state will be notified

Rayapati, six others resign .The carving out of T by the CWC on Tuesday triggered resentment among Seemandhra Cong leaders forcing six of them to resign from their posts.Soon after the CWCs announcement Guntur MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao,who is in the US,resigned from LS and the Congress.He faxed his resignation letter to LS Speaker.Ramachandrapuram legislator T Trimurthulu, Hindupuram MLA Abdul Ghani,and Mummidivaram MLA Ponnada Satish Babu too submitted their resignations.Similarly,Pendurthy MLA P Ramesh Babu resigned.MLC B Bhaskar Rao also quit. Meanwhile,APCC spokersperson and chairman of Committee on Implementation of 20-point Ec P   N Tulasi Rddy resigned from the Congress and the position he holds with cabinet rank.TNN

Celebrations on Osmania University campus after announcement of decision on Telangana formation                          
(Source-TOI)       

(Source-andhrajyothi)