Telangana shuts down to protest Srikrishna panel guidelines
February 13th, 2010 - 10:48 am ICT by IANS
Hyderabad, Feb 13 (IANS) A day-long shutdown began in Hyderabad and nine other districts of Telangana region Saturday in response to a call by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of students to protest the terms of reference of the Srikrishna panel on the issue of carving out a state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.
Shops and business establishments remained closed while state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation suspended bus services in the region.
Activists of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took to the streets at several places, staging demonstrations and blocking vehicles. The protesters turned violent at some places in Warangal and Medak districts, damaging buses and attacking the offices of the Congress party, police said.
As a preventive measure, police arrested dozens of pro-Telangana leaders since Friday night.
Anticipating violent protests by students, police and paramilitary forces have been deployed at Osmania University campus here. The campus has been the nerve centre of the agitation for a separate state.
The students’ JAC, which has given call for the shutdown, is likely to stage protests at the university later Saturday. The shutdown call has been backed by by the JAC of all political parties.
All 10 legislators of TRS will submit their resignations to assembly speaker later in the day. TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao has already announced that both MPs, 10 MLAs and the lone MLC would quit to protest the terms of reference, which are “not favourable to formation of Telangana state”.
The all-party JAC will meet later Saturday to take a decision on mass resignations. While several Telugu Desam Party (TDP) legislators have expressed their willingness to quit, the opinion in the ruling Congress party is divided. Congress legislators said they would take a decision at the JAC meeting, which will also decide future course of the agitation.
JAC convenor M. Kodandaram has rejected the terms of reference saying they were against the Dec 9 statement by the central government to initiate the process for formation of Telangana state.
According to the seven terms of reference announced by the central government Friday, the five-member panel will consider both the demands for separate Telangana state and for maintaining the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh.
The committee, which has been asked to submit its report by Dec 31, is holding its first meeting in New Delhi Saturday.
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- Crisis deepens as more Telangana lawmakers quit amid crippling strike (Roundup) - Jul 05, 2011
- Partial response to Telangana shutdown call (Lead) - Feb 13, 2010
- Cook-and-eat agitation in Hyderabad for Telangana state (Lead) - Jun 19, 2011
- Telangana panel puts off rail blockade (Second Lead) - Jul 07, 2011
- TRS defers decision on resignations over Telangana tussle - Feb 13, 2010
- Six Telangana Congress legislators to quit - Feb 13, 2010
- It's back to shutdown, resignations over Telangana (Roundup) - Feb 12, 2010
- Telangana shutdown hits life in region (Lead) - Mar 27, 2012
- TRS legislators postpone their decision to resign en-masse - Feb 13, 2010
- JAC asks all Telangana legislators to quit - Feb 14, 2010
- Hyderabad shutdown called on Sep 30, rail blockade in October (Roundup) - Sep 26, 2011
- Telangana protests hit road transport, hundreds detained - Jan 17, 2011
- Crisis in Andhra as Telangana MPs, MLAs quit enmasse (Roundup) - Jul 04, 2011
- Andhra Pradesh remains peaceful barring minor incidents (Lead) - Jan 06, 2011
Tags: action committee, assembly speaker, bharatiya janata party, business establishments, congress party, jac, mass resignations, medak, mlas, mlc, nerve centre, osmania university, paramilitary forces, preventive measure, road transport, telangana leaders, telugu desam party, transport corporation, violent protests, warangal