Hyderabad, December 31: After the Srikrishna Committee submitted its report to Union home minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi today, the question uppermost on the minds of people across the region is: Will he or won’t he?
Telangana activists in the region are once again preparing themselves for another round of agitation to pressurise the UPA government at the Centre to introduce a bill on Telangana in the coming budget session of Parliament. People across the region felt that the deployment of additional central security forces was nothing but a clear indication that the Srikrishna Committee may not favour state’s bifurcation. All the same, people are engaged in discussions and guessing on the outcome of the report. There is a largescale resentment over the deployment of additional forces in the entire region from Medak to Adilabad district.
At a meeting held by Medak district collector S Suresh Kumar and superintendent of police Sundar Kumar Das, both the officers have assured the representatives of political parties that the additional central forces would not conduct any flagmarch and would stay in their barracks until and unless required. The political representatives, from their side, assured the collector and the SP that, if need be, they would stage their protests in a peaceful manner.
A similar assurance was also given by Karimnagar SP N Shivshanker Reddy who wanted the protesters to organise their programmes in a Gandhian way. Karimnagar MP P Prabhakar urged the district police not to stage flagmarches by the additional central forces. He appealed to people to stay calm till Srikrishna Committee report was made public and then, if need be, organise protests peacefully. He hoped that the report would come in favour of the T cause.
The 70yearold P Narsi Reddy, who came from Sultanabad on personal work to Karimangar town today, said that the Centre would delay the T issue and hence the additional forces. He predicted that there might be President’s rule in the state.
In Adilabad district, Musuku Karthik of Jainath mandal said that the government was playing into the hands of Andhra and Rayalaseema leaders. “Both chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and directorgeneral of police K Aravinda Rao belong to the Rayalaseema region and they have deployed the additional forces. We don’t care the additional forces or repression. We will achieve T statehood,” he said.
Another Adilabadi, K Damodar, a retired employee, expressed similar views. The government would not be able to suppress the movement with the help of the police and additional security forces, he said.
A lot of people, basically daily wage workers and migrant labourers from Andhra and Rayalaseema region who generally go back to their native places during the Sankranti in the second week of January have already made arrangements for an early trip. “We don’t know what happens after January 6, when Srikrishna Committee report is made public. Hence we are leaving early and wait for some time and return,” said Rama Rao from Srikakulam said in Sangareddy.
–Agencies