Students of the Osmania University took out a protest march here on Wednesday demanding a separate state of Telangana.
In an endeavour to draw the attention of the Central Government to divide Andhra Pradesh in two, giving statehood to the region of Telangana, the students shouted slogans, burnt banners and hoardings of the ruling Congress Party.
Osmania University Joint Action Committee spokesperson Krishank said that they are forced to intensify their agitation since the lawmakers from Telangana failed to put pressure on the Central Government.
“The Congress is worried to save its government and unfortunately the Telangana Congress MPs are not able to put the pressure on Telangana issue. So as always, the Telangana students, the Osmania University students who have been in this agitation from fore-front, today we have given our support to the ”Sadak bandh” (closure of the roads) programme which is scheduled tomorrow,” said Krishank.
Osmania University has long been the hotbed of the political movement for the creation of a separate Telangana state.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had earlier in January said the creation of a separate state of Telangana was a work in process and progress.
He had earlier said that the contentious Telangana statehood demand would be delayed further, as the government needed more time to arrive at a final decision.
Shinde had set a one-month deadline for a decision in December when he had invited two representatives from each party to know their views afresh on the Telangana issue in New Delhi.
The meeting was held to bring out the views of all parties on the demand.
Congress Party has so far played safe on the Telangana statehood demand, saying it is a very sensitive matter and a decision in this regard would be taken at an appropriate time.
The four-decade-old demand for Telangana, which is to be carved out of the economically less developed part of Andhra Pradesh, gathered momentum after the Congress-ruled government accepted the demand in principle. (ANI)