Hyderabad, December 07: The Revolutionary Writers Association, Virasam, today extended their support to the ongoing agitation for a separate Telangana.
Virasam memmbers said they would participate in the “Chalo Assembly’’ on December 10 called by students of various Telangana districts on December 10.
Addressing a press conference today, executive committee member Varavara Rao said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Chief K Chandrasekhar Rao’s ongoing fast was a secondary issue in the context of the larger movement.
“Today, students have taken the agitation into their hands. KCR also has to follow the students as the time has come for him to decide between Assembly and agitation,’’ Varavara Rao said. KCR, he noted, had at last realised that statehood could be achieved only by taking up agitations and not by political lobbying.
Reacting to Chief Minister K Rosaiah’s statement that formation of a separate Telangana was not in his hands, Varavara Rao said it was better that Rosaiah resign if he is not in a position to address the issue.
Mentioning the government’s reference to the involvement of “outsiders’’ in the protests on OU campus, Varavara Rao pointedly asked what was wrong in Maoists (obviously being referred to) taking part.
The Virasam members also wondered why attacks on malls and other private establishments were considered violence by the media even as it kept quiet about people being crushed under the wheels of vehicles belonging to the Obulapuram Mining Corporation (OMC) and about police atrocities.
They also criticised Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N Chandrababu Naidu for raising only the OMC issue.
“Maoists have been fighting against illegal mining in many parts of the country, including Lalgadh. Today Chandrababu Naidu is talking about OMC just because of the involvement of YSR and Galli Janardhan Reddy. Why did he not talk about open cast mining earlier?’’ Varavara Rao wondered.
Virasam also pointed out that it was because of the involvement of Maoists in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand that exploitation by big private entrepreneurs could be checked.
Varavara Rao appealed to the people of Telangana not to resort to suicides.
–Agencies