Suspended Cong MPs from Telangana protest outside Parliament

Decision of Telangana is not in the hands of Azad or Ravi

Hyderabad, April 25:

(Siasat News) Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mr. Ravi, Union Ministers met the suspended Congress M.P.’s of A.P and discussed Telangana issue for two hours. The M.P.’s reiterated their stand that they would continue to agitate for the cause of Telangana.

Eight Congress M.P’s were suspended from Lok Sabha for four days for disrupting the proceedings of the house. They were shouting slogans “We demand Telangana”. They staged dharna in the Parliament. The speaker had suspended all of them for four days.

The Congress M.P’s recorded their strong protest on their suspension. They said that a wrong message has reached the people of Telangana. They said that it is not a new demand. They wanted to remind congress its promise made in December 2009 about Telangana. They also told that the people of Seema Andhra are not opposed to the formation of Telangana state. If the supporters of integrated Andhra state have guts, let them prove their strength by winning all the 17 Assembly seats which are going to polls due to be held in a couple of months.

Mr. Azad and Mr. Ravi consoled the agitated M.P.’s that the speaker had to take this unpleasant decision because they were disrupting the Parliament. Budget and other bills have to be passed by Parliament. They passified the M.P’s that if they promise to withdraw their agitation, their suspension could be revoked. The M.P.’s were not convinced and they reiterated their stand to continue their protest.

Mr. Azad and Ravi told the M.P.’s that the decision of formation of a separate Telangana state is not in their hands. The core committee headed by Ms. Sonia Gandhi is looking into it. It will decide the issue very soon.

Suspension of Congress MPs indicates no to Telangana statehood

NEW DELHI: By suspending eight pro-Telangana Congress MPs from the Lok Sabha for disrupting House proceedings repeatedly, the UPA government has indicated it would not relent on the issue.

Taken together with the denial of Rajya Sabha renomination to K Keshava Rao, an MP who was very vocal and persistent in his demand for a separate state, the move to suspend eight Congress MPs from the Lok Sabha underlines the party leadership's resolve not to succumb to the pressure tactics employed by Telangana backers. Even though the government is unlikely to make any formal announcement on its plans to maintain status-quo inAndhra Pradesh, it is evident that there had been a hardening of position on the part of both sides.

Efforts to persuade the rebel group to call off their campaign in Parliament failed to make any headway. Union ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is in charge of the party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, and Vayalar Ravi, in their interaction with the defiant MPs, refused to give any commitment on the formation of a new state.

In the party's assessment while the Telangana region will witness a TRS sweep in the next round of electoral battles in 2014, Congress is expected to retain its sway in the remaining part of Andhra Pradesh. Thus, there was no question of yielding any ground on the issue, it was argued.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Congress had won 33 out of the 42 seats from Andhra Pradesh. Its strength came down to 31 after YS Jaganmohan Reddy and Nellore MP M Rajamohan Reddy quit to float YSR Congress.

The eight Congress MPs, suspended from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday for four days, hail from the Telangana region. With pro-statehood sentiment running strong in Telangana, it has become imperative for the MPs to calibrate their position in keeping with the popular mood. However, with its numbers precariously perched in the Lok Sabha, Congress is unlikely to expel the MPs, especially when the presidential poll is round the corner.

Telangana issue tags up to Congress Govt neck

TRS – The Existential need of Telangana

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From time immemorial, India has been a loose confederation of states or viceroys ruling under the thumb of one chieftain or other, till 1947. When India became independent under the umbrella of Congress, the party tried its level best not to have any viceroys under the garb of democracy. Its apprehensions were valid to an extent, given some disturbances such as 1947 partition of Pakistan on religious lines and the division of Bengal. However they were signs of insecure mind. Fortunately or unfortunately those fears became the basis for our federal structure. At the same time, weak states and strong center under federal framework also did not do much good to India. Excessive power in the few hands always corrupts the society and it leads to uneven development. That’s exactly what has happened, if you observe the first 20-30 odd years of independent India.

India is a very self-contradicting country. We beat the drums to whole world that we are the largest democracy and on the other hand regional or sub regional aspirations are, often, termed as anti-national. These are typical symptoms of an oligarchic society. Against all odds, emergence of regionalism in the down south starting from Tamilnadu, Kerala and early 80s in AP, later in Karnataka, Orissa have sown the seeds of development in India. And this was replicated in in North of India much later. Perhaps of the same reason, you are seeing some green shoots here and there in states like Bihar.

Cursory glance over the history makes me to conclude that the living standards of Indian people started going up in states that have powerful regional parties. This proves the generally accepted fact that regionalism, has not become a threat to nation as some oligarchic minds believed then, it has indeed became a boon for Indian people. Ironically, same regional parties which fought against the so-called national parties (is there any national party left in India? – I see there are multi-region parties and regional parties), are opposing the sub regionalism.

A canard is being spread from ages, by English speaking intelligentsia, in this country that regional parties do not have national interests. I really doubt if so-called national parties really have one. Allegedly good nuclear deal – to meet the ever increasing demand for electric power- was opposed by so-called national parties, however (coercively or otherwise), regional parties ensured that nuclear pact with USA floated through. This incident and many other indicates that every political party will try to serve its own interest, be it national one or otherwise.

Given this back drop of history, it becomes an imperative for any region to have its own regional party fighting and reminding to the so-called national parties and to the nation, in general,  the regional aspirations of the people. If whole this equation has to be seen through the prism of Telangana, it becomes all the more important to have party that works for the aspirations of region and at the same time serving its own interests, for following reasons.

Firstly, these ‘national parties’ (or rather  multi-regional parties), did not care for the regional aspirations for a long time. Even the local ‘regional party’ did not work for the benefit of people of Telangana. The same party which came to power on the slogan “Telugu Pride” is showing scant regard for “Telangana Pride”.

Secondly, multi-regional parties have a typical habit of shunning their ideologies to grab the power in Delhi. BJP had put its main plank – Ram mandir in Ayodhya on the back burner to attain the power throne in Delhi. Expecting that BJP will behave differently on Telangana statehood issue is just an utopian dream. Congress, volte-faces on every issue, to wrest control of Delhi, is a routine thing that we observe day-in and day-out.

To conclude, it is existential need of Telangana people to have a TRS party to serve the aspirations and interests of them. Every Telangana person should continue to support TRS till we achieve our collective dream of Telangana state and thereafter to realize our combined goal of prosperous and just Telangana.

P.S:  It is rumored that Congress gives Telangana only on a condition of TRS merging with it. This will pave the way for achieving one of our main goals but at the cost of other. We need TRS as much as Telangana

By-elections not linked to Telangana demand, says Botsa Satyanarayana

New Delhi, April 25 (INN): Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana on Wednesday said that there was no link to by-elections and Telangana State issue in the State.

Talking to media persons, Botsa Satyanarayana said that the Telangana issue should not be linked with the by-elections and stated that both were different issues. He also dismissed reports that the outcome of by-election results would decide the formation of Telangana state. He said that the Congress High Command was seriously considering the Telangana State issue and would announce a decision at an appropriate time.

Responding to suspension of ruling Congress MPs from the Telangana region, the PCC chief stated that the MPs acted according to the situation that prevailed in the House. 

Stating that the list of aspirants for by-elections would be announced by the High Command within five days, he said that the Congress party would go for by-election campaign with the welfare programmes taken up during its regime and the development agenda and corruption of YSR Congress president Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Stating that all senior leaders in the party would participate in the by-elections campaign, the PCC chief said that the party would be collectively held responsible for the outcome of elections. Expressing confidence over winning all the seats, he predicted that the Telugu Desam Party would be relegated to third position in the by-elections. 

Suspended Telangana MPs prevented from entering LS

Eight Telangana  MPs, suspended from the Lok Sabha for four days, were prevented entry into the House on Wednesday as the security personnel were armed with their photographs to stop them from entering even the lobbies.

Since after suspension on Tuesday for repeatedly resorting to noisy scenes to disrupt the House proceedings, they had tried to stage a sit-in even after the House was adjourned for the day.

 

They, however, quietly withdrew after the Speaker sent a warning that their occupation was illegal and unauthorised and they can be physically removed and arrested if they do not go out within one hour.

The government was even prepared on Tuesday to use Marshals of the Lok Sabha to physically lift them from the House after their suspension, but the Opposition leaders resisted any physical action and hence the Speaker was requested to make arrangements to ensure they are not able to enter the House when it reassembles on Wednesday.

Those suspended are: Ponnam Prabhakar, Madhu Goud Yashkhi, Dr Manda jagannath, Gutha Sukhendra Reddy, K R G Reddy, Rajaiah Siricilla, Porika Balram Naik and Dr Gaddam Vivekanand.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesman Rashid Alvi on Wednesday sought to point out that their suspension shows that the Congress can go to the extent of action against own party MPs, as t ensure smooth functioning of Parliament is important.

He added that it should be taken as a learning lesson by the Opposition as well, so that it protests, with responsibility, and not disrupts the principal Parliamentary task of legislating.

A book on Telangana

Telangana People's Struggle and Its Lessons

TJAC Sets Deadline For Cong, TDP The Telangana Political JAC sets 24 April as the latest deadline for the Congress and the TDP, to make their stand on Telangana clear.

4th Apr, 2012: Telangana Political Joint Action Committee Chairman M Kodandaram, on Wednesday, set 24 April as the latest deadline for the ruling Congress and the opposition Telugu Desam Party, to make their stand on Telangana statehood clear.

If the parties fail to make their stand clear by 24 April, Kodandaram said, the JAC and the TRS would intensify their struggle.

Talking to media persons after emerging from a JAC Steering Committee meeting held at the JAC office, Kodandaram stated that the JAC has taken a decision to stage dharnas and protests across mandals and district headquarters in the Telangana region from 10 to 20 April, demanding that the Congress and the TDP make their stand clear.

The JAC would organize rallies in the district headquarters and create awareness on the matter, he said.

Kodandaram said that the JAC was opposed to the idea of Rayala-Telangana as proposed by some Rayalaseema leaders as an alternate to the bifurcation of the state.

He advised the Centre to announce its decision on Telangana before the end of the Parliament session, and to stop proposing other alternatives.

He suggested that Petroleum Minister S Jaipal reddy and Panchayat Raj Minister K Jana Reddy mount pressure on the Congress High Command to take a decision in favour of Telangana.

The JAC chairman stated that Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's "delaying tactics" and Congress and TDP leaders' "irresponsible statements" were driving students to end their lives.

He said TDP Telangana Forum members must come out of the TDP to prove their commitment towards the statehood issue.

Referring to suicides in the name of Telangana, Kodandaram called upon Telangana activists and youth to fight for a separate state and not resort to extreme steps. (INN) 

TELANGANA-SUICIDES 2 LASTTELANGANA-SUICIDES 2 LAST

After a lull between October last and March, the suicide After a lull between October last and March, the suicide saga began once again with the self-immolation of an MBA student in Warangal ten days ago. The Telangana protagonists lost no time in projecting it as "yet another sacrifice" for the statehood cause while police investigation established that the student Bhojya Naik ended his life because of "love failure". "He, no doubt, shouted Jai Telangana before setting himself on fire but the real reason for his extreme step was love failure," a senior police officer said. Police tracked Naik’s cell phone records to establish the reason for his suicide. Even the suicide by an auto-rickshaw driver Rajamouli two days later in Hanumakonda too was not for Telangana as claimed by the protagonists. Rajamouli felt "harassed" by the traffic police and wrote a petition to the district Superintendent of Police listing his travails before ending his life. "Every case of suicide has a reason....not all cases can be linked to Telangana. But given the sensitivities involved, the claims are not being countered,” the minister observed. When the then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash in September 2009, press notes were issued from the Congress Legislature Party daily listing the number of persons who died either of "shock" or committed suicide unable to bear the "tall leader's" tragic end. The count stopped somewhere near 400 after people, including senior Congress leaders, started mocking at the deaths. But families of those 400-odd people are getting some "relief" as YSR's son and Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy is going round the state distributing financial aid (ranging up to Rs one lakh each) as part of his Odarpu Yatra. In contrast, families of the youths who supposedly "sacrificed" their lives for a state are virtually left in the lurch. "We have given some relief to a few families so far and many more are yet to be given," TRS leader in the Assembly E Rajender said. Congress MPs and MLAs from the region embarked on a relief distribution mission a few months ago and gave up abruptly after extending financial assistance to a handful of families.

Youth hangs self for Telangana

IMAMPUR (MEDAK): A 23-year-old youth was found hanging from a tree in Imampur village in Medak district's Toopran mandal on Wednesday morning in what appears to be yet another suicide in support of the separate Telangana cause.

But what has everyone stumped is how Chyapala Yadagiri, a class VII dropout, came to land up in this small village as the deceased hailed from Rayalapuram village in Rangareddy district's Medchal mandal.

Yadagiri, who was trying to set up as an autorickshaw driver after recently having taken driving lessons, claimed in a voice message on his mobile phone that he was ending his life for the Telangana cause. The deceased's cellular phone was found lying on the ground close to where his body was found hanging.

"Jai Telangana. Don't stop me from dying for Telangana. I am pained by the delay in the formation of Telangana," he said in the recording.

Police said that the voice belonged to Yadagiri after his mother Lakshmi and maternal uncle Suram Ravi arrived to confirm that it was indeed him. DSP Srinivas Rao said passersby found Yadagiri hanging from the tree on the outskirts of the village close to NH-44. "He left behind a cigarette packet cover on which he mentioned the phone recording. We don't suspect any foul play after a preliminary investigation," he said. Ravi, with whom Yadagiri started sharing accommodation after his father Venkataiah's death three years back, said that Yadagiri had been actively involved in the Telangana movement in Rayalapuram and nearby villages.

As news of the suicide spread, hundreds of TRS and ABVP activists poured out on to the roads to hold rallies in Toopran and Gajwel towns.

Former Congress MP Indrakaran Reddy said that the party could now ill-afford to ignore the strong sentiment among the youth and warned of more suicides unless the leadership made its stand clear on the separate statehood issue.

Meanwhile, Pallavi, who attempted suicide in Karimnagar district, was critical with over 75% burns. She was taken to Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad. Anguished by the delay in formation of a separate Telangana, she had set herself ablaze at her house in Pallenizamabad village on Tuesday night.

Telangana: JAC gives Cong ultimatum till Apr 24

The Telangana Political Joint Action Committee (JAC) today threatened to intensify the separate statehood agitation once again if the ruling Congress fails to make its stand clear on the issue before the Parliament resumes for the second part of the Budget session on April 24.

Congress should clear its stand on Telangana issue as it had promised to deliver the separate state in the 2004 and 2009 elections, JAC convener M Kodandaram told reporters here.

The MPs and MLAs of Congress should put pressure on their party leadership towards accepting the separate statehood demand, the JAC convenor said in the background of the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement last month that four political parties in Andhra Pradesh -- Congress, TDP, MIM and YSR Congress --were yet to make up their mind about their stand on Telangana.

Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy and state Panchayat Raj Minister K Jana Reddy have an important role to play in the process as they are key Telangana leaders at the Centre and state respectively, the JAC convenor claimed.

The TDP has failed to mount pressure on the Congress towards accepting separate state demand, he said.

The JAC would undertake rallies between April 10 to 20 to expose two major parties, the JAC leader said.

Appealing to the Telangana youth not to take the extreme step of ending their lives for the cause, he maintained that the alleged suicides would stop if the separate state demand is accepted.

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Two Congress MPs from Telanganaregion on Tuesday favoured the Centre fixing a time-frame for four parties in Andhra Pradesh to give their views on the statehood issue to expedite the decision-making process.

"If (Union Home Minister)Chidamramji is sincere, then he should put a cut-off date and ask the parties to give their views. He can write to the parties, ask them. He should say what decision he is going to take if the parties don't make up their mind. Delaying a decision is not good," Congress Lok Sabhamember Ponnam Prabhakar told reporters here.

Another Congress Lok Sabha member from Telangana S Rajaiah said the Centre should call the four parties and put a timeframe to give their views.

The Centre should put a pre-condition for parties that it will take steps towards resolving the issue on the basis of past records and documents (when the parties had given their views), he said.

The two Congress MPs were referring to the Union Home Minister's stance that four parties -- Congress, Telugu Desam, YSR Congress and MIM -- are yet to make up their mind on the Telangana issue.

"There is a demand for a decision. From my side and from the government of India side, we are requesting the four political parties which have not yet expressed their opinions, to quickly make up their mind and tell us their views. I hope they will soon," Chidambaram had said on March 31.

Chidambaram said the Central government was ready to call a meeting of eight political parties, once it gets the signal of four political parties, out of the eight,(that they) are ready and give their views.

Asked why he has not reminded the four political parties to give their views,Chidambaram had said, "I am in touch with them. I may not have issued a reminder in writing, but I am in touch with the four parties".

BJP, TRS, CPI, CPI-M -- have already taken a stand on the Telangana issue, but the four others were yet to make up their mind. Two earlier meetings of the political parties were held on January 5, 2010 and January 6, 2011.

Telangana decision by April 24: Ghulam Nabi Azad

NEW DELHI: The Congress high command dropped enough hints to it's Telangana MPs that the Union government would make a clear statement on Telangana in the budget session of Parliament which will be resumed on April 24 after holidays.

Telangana MPs have raised the issue in the Lok Sabha in the presence of the AICC president Sonia Gandhi and submitted memoranda to her.

On Friday, AICC general secretary and Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad held separate meetings with Telangana and Seemandhra Congress MPs in his chamber in Parliament.

Though the agenda before Azad was to discuss bypolls to 18 Assembly segments in the state, he spoke on the Telangana issue at length.

Azad told party MPs that it was high time for the party to take a decision on Telangana. He said Parliament had holidays from March 31 to April 24 and during these days the party leadership would intensify its efforts to arrive at a decision on Telangana demand.

The UPA government will announce the decision in the House, he said.

Azad said Hyderabad was the bone of contention in state bifurcation. Though the party has been struggling to find a solution to the problem, this time it will settle the issue, Azad reportedly assured the MPs.

Telangana MPs said they wanted Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital.

Hyderabad was the heart of Telangana, they said.

Rajya Sabha members MA Khan and Nandi Yellaiah also met AICC president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and received an assurance from her that the party would take a decision before April 24.

Nalgonda MP Gutta Sukhendar Reddy said they would not compromise with any one on Telangana.

BYPOLLS: REPORTS SOUGHT FROM MPs

Meanwhile, Seemandhra MPs urged Congress leadership to announce bypoll incharges for the 18 constituencies and said the party should announce candidates right away without waiting for election notification.

Minister Panabaka Lakshmi reportedly lodged a complaint against Lagadapati Rajagopal with Azad.

She said Rajagopal was damaging party prospects with his surveys.

Azad said a special committee will lead party work in all the 18 Assembly constituencies.

He asked respective MPs to give reports on each segment covering the overall political situation and party prospects. Party leadership would finalise candidates by keeping in mind the reports submitted MPs, he said.

MUST READ: The dirty 'suicide politics' over Telangana

Desaraju Surya in Hyderabad

 It is turning out to be a clear case of playing dirty politics over the dead in Andhra Pradesh in general and Telangana in particular.

The "trend" started with farmers' suicide in the early 2000s and touched a feverish pitch after the death of then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in September 2009.

Since December 2009 it is the Telangana issue around which the bizarre "suicide" saga has been revolving.

Till the recent by-elections to six assembly seats in the region, Telangana protagonists went to town claiming 700 students and youths "sacrificed" their lives for the cause of a separate state.

Barely ten days after the elections, this figure mysteriously swelled to 850.

None of the main parties that are claiming to be fighting for Telangana state has any accurate data to substantiate their claims.

"They say 700 and we are going by that number," Telugu Desam Telangana Forum leader Motkupalli Narasumhulu said on Tuesday even as he blamed Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhar Rao for the growing number of suicides.

Bharatiya Janata Party state president G Kishan Reddy put the "toll" at 750 while Telangana Rashtra Samiti, a self-styled torch-bearer of the statehood movement, says the number is "800 plus".

Last week in Parliament, while stalling the House on the statehood demand, MPs from Telangana lamented the indifference of the Central government despite suicide by 600 students and youths for a separate state.

But none has a record of all these suicides, whatever be the number, to prove their claims.

For the record, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy informed the legislative council during the just-concluded budget session that 316 persons committed suicide supposedly in the name of Telangana in the last couple of years.

But the government is not ready to confirm that all these deaths were solely for the statehood cause.

"This is a delicate issue. Even if we know the facts, we may not be telling them," a senior minister from Telangana region admitted.

After a lull between October last and March, the suicide saga began once again with the self-immolation of an MBA student in Warangal ten days ago.

The Telangana protagonists lost no time in projecting it as "yet another sacrifice" for the statehood cause while police investigation established that the student Bhojya Naik ended his life because of "love failure".

"He, no doubt, shouted Jai Telangana before setting himself on fire but the real reason for his extreme step was love failure," a senior police officer said.

Police tracked Naik's cell phone records to establish the reason for his suicide.

Even the suicide by an auto-rickshaw driver Rajamouli two days later in Hanumakonda too was not for Telangana as claimed by the protagonists.

Rajamouli felt "harassed" by the traffic police and wrote a petition to the district superintendent of police listing his travails before ending his life.

"Every case of suicide has a reason....not all cases can be linked to Telangana. But given the sensitivities involved, the claims are not being countered," the minister observed.

When the then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash in September 2009, press notes were issued from the Congress Legislature Party daily listing the number of persons who died either of "shock" or committed suicide unable to bear the "tall leader's" tragic end.

The count stopped somewhere near 400 after people, including senior Congress leaders, started mocking at the deaths.

But families of those 400-odd people are getting some "relief" as YSR's son and Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy is going round the state distributing financial aid (ranging up to Rs 1 lakh each) as part of his Odarpu Yatra.

In contrast, families of the youths who supposedly "sacrificed" their lives for a state are virtually left in the lurch.

"We have given some relief to a few families so far and many more are yet to be given," TRS leader in the assembly E Rajender said.

Congress MPs and MLAs from the region embarked on a relief distribution mission a few months ago and gave up abruptly after extending financial assistance to a handful of families.

Another student commits suicide over Telangana

WARANGAL: An 18-year old engineering student allegedly committed suicide over demand for statehood for Telangana, police said on Monday.

According to police, this is the third incident in the district in the past 10 days, in which, a student killed himself over the controversial issue.

The victim, identified as Sambari Naveen, was a first-year engineering student of Charistu Jyothi Engineering College in Jangaon.

According to police, the victim hanged himself at his residence in Tarigoppula village of Narmetta Mandal of Warangal district. Police also found a suicide note at the crime site, in which, Naveen mentioned that he was committing suicide for the cause of separate Telangana, police said.

On March 24, an MBA student from the same district had ended his life over the separate Telangana demand.

Another 23-year-old youth from the district had committed suicide over "inaction" on part of politicians from the region in pursuing the cause, sources said.

Telangana statehood: Parties urge youths against suicide

Mohammed Siddique in Hyderabad

The Telangana Joint Action Committee and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti organised a massive rally in Hyderabad making a fervent appeal to the people of the region not to resort to suicides. Mohammed Siddique reports

Despite the Telangana parties and organisations repeatedly appealing to supporters demanding a separate state not to take extreme steps, the region continues to witness suicides and attempts to commit suicide at an alarming pace.

After eight such incidents in less than a week, another Telangana supporter tried to kill himself in Nalgonda district on Friday. The Telangana activist in Kondrapol village in Damacharla mandal poured kerosene on his body and set himself ablaze. He was admitted to the area hospital in a critical condition. He left behind a note saying he was ending his life as he had lost hope that the government will form Telangana state.

Another youth Anil Kumar had committed suicide on Thursday in Mahbubnagar town, while 23-year-old Yadgiri committed suicide in Medak district two days ago.

In the latest wave of suicides in support of Telangana state, which started on March 24 with an MBA student Bojja Nayak killing himself in Warangal, so far four persons have killed themselves and five others have been injured.

The wave of suicides has sparked off a debate with pro Telangana organisations blaming the incidents on the inaction of the central government to carve out a separate state. However, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and some police officers have added fuel to the fire by saying that there could be other reasons behind the suicides.

With suicides continuing, the Telangana Joint Action Committee and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti organised a massive rally in Hyderabad on Friday to make a fervent appeal to the people of the region not to resort to suicides.

The rally from Sundraiah Vignanan Kendra to Indira Park was led by TJAC convenor Prof Kodanda Ram and attended by thousands of people.

Kodanda Ram urged the youth and the students to refrain from suicide as it will not achieve Telangana. "We will achieve our goal only when we force the political leaders and the government in Hyderabad and Delhi," he said.

The procession also witnessed some tense moments as the participants tried to damage the statue of the Telugu Desam founder N T Rama Rao. Telangana supporters were angry with the TDP for not taking a clear stand in support of Telangana state.

The police had a difficult time in saving the statue from the ire of the Telangana supporters.

The Bharatiya Janata party, which was also trying to wriggle its way to the center stage of the Telangana movement, has become active in the campaign against the suicides. State BJP President G Kishan Reddy sat on a day-long fast in Warangal, which has witnessed two incidents of suicides. He appealed to the people not to resort to the extreme steps but to strengthen the hands of the BJP to achieve Telangana state.

LS adjourned again over Telangana

The HinduMPs from Andhra Pradesh protest at Parliament House for a separate in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: V.V. Krishnan

The Telangana issue disrupted proceedings of the Lok Sabha for the fifth day on Friday.

As soon as the House took up Question Hour, Congress members from Telangana and MPs from TDP and TRS rushed to the well holding posters saying “honour the commitment for Telangana” and “jan bhavna ka samman karo” (respect public sentiments).

Amid din, only one question could be taken up.

As the members raised slogans, BJP members termed the entire exercise as a “conspiracy” by the government so that the proceedings do not take place.

Speaker Meira Kumar then adjourned the House till noon.