Hyderabad, July 06: It’s the second day of the 48-hour Telangana bandh and schools and colleges are closed, entrance exams in Osmania University have been postponed and there are no Road Transport Corporation (RTC) buses on the roads. There is also no solution yet in sight to the stand-off over the demand for a separate Telangana state.
The number of resignations in the Andhra Assembly is nearing the 100 mark – this after 11 TRS, four CPI and two BJP MLAs from Telangana joined the resignation brigade yesterday.
Osmania University continues to be tense. Students fought pitched battles with the police on the campus yesterday and there is heavy police security there today. University students are planning a rally and a Telangana employees union will meet today to decide on boycott of work or non-cooperation.
The bandh was largely peaceful elsewhere in Telangana on Day 1, and the Andhra Pradesh government will be holding its breath and wishing Day 2 passes without incident.
As more resignations poured forth from leaders from Telangana across different parties on Tuesday, the Centre indicated that it was open to a new round of discussions on whether Andhra Pradesh should be bifurcated.
“It is time for discussion on a separate state (for Telangana),” said senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. He however made it clear that this is a “sensitive and complex issue” that needs “wider consultations.” His comments preceded a discussion with Congress MPs and MLAs on the resignations they have submitted, demanding that the union government make its stand clear on the issue of a new state for their homeland.
Later in the evening, Telangana Congress MPs also met senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee. There are more meetings planned today.
A total of 98 MLAs from Telangana have quit the Assembly. This includes 45 from the Congress, 11 from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), 37 from the Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and both legislators from Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party (PRP).
The 48-hour bandh called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee will be followed by student rallies on Thursday and rail blockades are planned on Friday and Saturday.
-Agencies