New Delhi, October 04: Separate Telangana activists on Monday rejected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s appeal for calling off the 22-day strike and threatened to intensify it if the Centre does not announce the formation of the state with a “clear-cut timeframe”.
After a 30-minute meeting with Singh, TRS said they were not satisfied with the Prime Minister’s response when he sought “some more time” to decide on the issue.
The general strike in Telangana is now over three weeks old, with no signs of end. A day after a symbolic fast at Rajghat, TRS Chief K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday met with a range of political leaders, from the left to the right, even meeting the Prime Minister, in his campaign for a separate state of Telanagana.
“He was telling us that he understands the demand, the sentiments and aspirations of the people. He told us that a process is underway and consultations are on and said that will take some more time,” he said.
Rao made it clear that the agitation would not end “until the Centre announces the formation of a separate Telangana state with a clear-cut time-frame and road-map.”
“Without that, it is not possible for us to call-off the agitation. The momentum will be kept up and we will decide,” he said. CPI leader AB Bardhan said, “Congress must go for a separate state now, enough of dithering”.
And in a move that’s now become a ritual, the congress MPs from Telangana region too decided to make their presence felt on the same day. So if KCR was meeting the PM in the evening, they met the PM in the morning itself.
Madhu Yakshi Goud, a Congress MP from Telangana, said, “PM understood the gravity of the situation. He said he will advice the CM that no common man or government employee should be harassed. PM also said he will speak to the HM.”
On the ground, protests have entered 21st day in Andhra Pradesh. A general strike called by employees of various government departments and corporations continue to paralyse the state. Public transport remains off the road and Hyderabad is now facing a four-hour power cut.
Congress said Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “Before delivering anything, the consultation process is very important. The consultation process has already taken place. Positive is that impasse should not continue.
The congress clearly it seems is not in a hurry to take the final call anytime soon but is keen to make the right kind of noises. However, the party also feels that a decision could be taken at an opportune moment, which could well be 2014 when Andhra Pradesh goes to polls.
–Agencies–