Congress meet on Telangana ends, no decision yet

Protestors demanding the creation of a new Telangana state carved out of existing Andhra Pradesh block police vehicles in Hyderabad.

NEW DELHI: The Congress core committee meeting to discuss the creation of a separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh is reported to have ended without making any headway on Friday.

Congress sources said the core group discussed the report which has been prepared by Azad after talking to party leaders from various parts of Andhra Pradesh. Azad, the Congress in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, is the Union health minister. The core group meeting was held at 7 Race Course Road official residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Congress MP from Nizamabad Madhu Goud Yaskhi said Azad had given his report on the demand for Telangana to Congress presidentSonia Gandhi. He said other parties such as Telugu Desam Party and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen seemed to be waiting for the stand of the Congress.

Yaskhi, along with several other leaders from the Telangana region had met finance ministerPranab Mukherjee on Thursday to press for their demand for creating a new state. Another party leader, K Keshava Rao, said that party leaders were keen to stay in the capital till a decision is taken on the demand for creation of new state.

Meanwhile, Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhara Rao and other leaders of the Telangana movement on Friday evening reached New Delhi to meet the PM and urge him to take an early decision on formation of a separate state.

The Congress core committee meeting comes amid intensification of the agitation in Telangana for the creation of new state. Normal life in the region has been badly affected as the ongoing agitation has entered the 18th day.

Telangana bandh evokes mixed response

HYDERABAD: The one-day city bandh call given by Telangana political Joint Action Committee(JAC) on Friday evoked lukewarm response in areas dominated by Congress and MIM, while it was total in areas where BJP and TRS have a strong presence.
Though shops, business establishments, theatres and petrol bunks remained shut in most parts of the city during the first few hours, near normalcy was restored by 4pm. Normal attendance was reported in all private companies as well as in IT firms at Gachibowli and Madhapur. None of the city schools, barring a few, functioned as they are closed for Dasara vacation.
There were no signs of bandh in the vicinity of either sides of Musi river. It was another normal day for hotels and small establishments of Old City. Traders said since most of the people were busy with Dasara festivities, there was not much pressure either from the political parties or Telangana activists to enforce the bandh. Brisk business was witnessed in areas around Charminar and Secunderabad as shoppers made the most of the bandh call.
Most of the government offices remained shut for the 18{+t} {+h} day with employees continuing to stay away from work. The staff strength at secretariat dropped significantly due to lack of public transportation. Nearly 95% of the RTC fleet was confined to their respective depots for the 12th consecutive day. Private carriers, including jeeps and autos fleeced people, while the RTC management ran skeletal services on all major roads with police escort.
However, the entire Telangana region remained shut for the 18{+t} {+h} day in a row as part of the sakala janula samme. The Telangana political JAC, meanwhile, has threatened to carry out an indefinite industrial bandh across the region beginning next week if the Centre failed to come forward with a positive announcement immediately. A few JAC leaders confirmed that there was no change in their plan of action and the indefinite strike would continue.
Most of the leaders from TJAC and its affiliates have landed in Delhi on Friday evening along with TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, while another batch led by political JAC chairman M Kodandaram Reddy are scheduled to leave for the NCR on Saturday to make themselves heard in the corridors of power.