Thaindian News

Hyderabad, Jan 17 (IANS) The relay hunger strike by leaders of all-party Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana entered the second day Sunday.
The JAC is demanding that the central government immediately initiate the process for formation of Telangana state.

Legislators and leaders of ruling Congress party, main opposition Telugu Desam Party and leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) and people’s organisations are participating in the hunger strike at Indira Park here.

The relay hunger strike will continue till Jan 28, the deadline set by JAC for the central government to make an announcement on Telangana with a clear-cut time frame, failing which all elected representatives in the region would resign enmasse.

The legislators and MPs who have already submitted their resignations would press the speakers to accept the same if the central government failed to make an announcement by Jan 28.

Terming this as the final fight for achieving Telangana state, JAC convenor M. Kodandaram told reporters that all public representatives should quit respecting the people’s aspirations.

TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao has warned that people would teach a lesson to those public representatives who are refusing to resign or press for acceptance of their resignations.

Cracks have appeared in the JAC over the issue as a section of Congress party leaders from the region were against pressing for acceptance of the resignations as it may be construed as blackmailing of the party.

TRS and TDP have said their MLAs and MPs would quit to create a constitutional crisis in order to force the centre to initiate Telangana process.

Congress legislator R. Damodar Reddy, a key leader of JAC, said all elected representatives irrespective of their party affiliations would have no option but to quit if the centre failed to make an announcement by Jan 28.

However, MPs Sarve Satyanarayana and G. Sukhender Reddy, government chief whip Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and senior legislator K. Jana Reddy were against the move.

A meeting of Congress MPs was held here last night, which felt that there was no need to press for the acceptance of resignations as the central government had initiated the process for formation of Telangana state.

Out of 119 MLAs from Telangana, 77 had submitted their resignation to protest the Dec 23 statement by the central government. They alleged that the government had gone back on its Dec 9 statement to initiate the process for formation of Telangana state.

Out of 50 MLAs belonging to Congress party, 28 including 13 ministers have either not submitted their resignations or withdrawn the same.

TDP leader N. Janardhan Reddy said all 39 MLAs from Telangana would press the assembly speaker to accept their resignations.

All 10 MLAs of TRS have also submitted their resignations.