Hyderabad, January 07: Contrary to apprehensions of a severe backlash in the Telangana region to the Justice Srikrishna Committee report, the situation in the entire region remained more or less peaceful today. Only the Osmania University campus in Hyderabad witnessed some unrest with students hurling stones and the police lobbing of tear-gas shells in retaliation.
In the afternoon, when the electronic media started telecasting the salient features of the Srikrishna Committee report and the six options that the committee had submitted to the Union government, leaders and activists in the Telangana region said they would reject the recommendations except the option that spoke about reverting to pre-November 1956 situation in the state. They also maintained that they would not settle for anything short of a separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as the capital.
To register their protest against the Srikrishna Committee report, Telangana leaders from all political parties and organisations, professionals and students staged rallies and rasta rokos, and burnt Srikrishna Committee members and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in effigy. At some places flexis of Congress leaders were burnt. In places like Bhongir town in Nalgonda district a couple of RTC buses were damaged. Police resorted to a mild lathicharge and arrested the agitating students.
At Siddipet an activist D Murali made an attempt to immolate himself was prevented by the police and his colleagues. Staff and employees working in the Medak district collectorate at Sangareddy boycotted work in the afternoon and burnt the copies of the Srikrishna Committee report. Teachers attending a refresher course at Kondapur and Naryankhed also boycotted the programme. T acvisits and leaders submitted a memorandum to district collector S Suresh Kumar.
In Warangal city, police prevented Kakatiya University students from damaging the DCC office. The agitators threw stones and damaged the windowpanes. They were taken into custody. In Jagitial town protesters stormed the houses of TDP legislator L Ramana and Congress leader T Jeevan Reddy. About 15 ABVP members climbed up RDO’s office and threatened to jump but were pacified by the JAC leaders.
In Adilabad, activists stormed TDP MLA Jogu Ramanna’s house and shouted slogans in favour of Telangana state. Rasta roko and effigy-burning took place at many places in the district.
By and large the protests against Srikrishna Committee in the region were peaceful.
—Agencies