By IANS,
Hyderabad/New Delhi: The emotive divide over the proposed formation of a Telangana state Thursday disrupted parliament and continued to derail normal life in Rayalseema and coastal Andhra even as the ruling Congress made it clear that it was determined to split up Andhra Pradesh.
Taking a definitive stand, Finance Minister and senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee told a group of Andhra politicians ranged against Telangana that there would be no going back on the proposed new state.
“Pranab told us that the high command has already started the process for the formation of a Telangana state,” a dejected MP, Kanumuri Bapiraju, told IANS after meeting Mukherjee and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in the parliament house.
In the most outspoken intervention on behalf of Telangana since protests gripped Andhra Pradesh several days ago, Mukherjee said the Congress had promised to form the new state ahead of the Lok Sabha election this year.
But he added that a final decision would be taken only after an “appropriate resolution is adopted in the (Andhra Pradesh) assembly”. He also told MPs and legislators from Rayalseema and coastal Andhra “not to get emotional”.
But there was no let up in the anti-Telangana protests sweeping the two regions, with Chief Minister K. Rosaiah appealing to all political parties to help restore normalcy in the state.
Rosaiah said that the massive protests of the last 20 days had hit hard the economy. “The government is facing severe difficulties. Road transport has been badly hit. Both passenger and goods traffic have been affected. Educational institutions are closed.”
The protests first erupted in Telangana demanding separate statehood for 10 districts including Hyderabad. Once the central government bowed to the demand, anti-Telangana protests took hold of the rest of the state.
For the seventh consecutive day, protests raged in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. Rallies, meetings, sit-ins, road blockades and hunger strikes rocked most parts of the 13 districts in the two regions.
Movement of private buses and goods vehicles were affected on highways.
Cutting across party lines, more leaders Thursday joined the growing clamour for a “Samaikya Andhra” (United Andhra) by launching hunger strike to force New Delhi to change its mind.
Tension prevailed in Vijaywada town when fasting Telugu Desam Party (TDP) legislator D. Umamaheshwar Rao and two more TDP leaders were arrested after their condition deteriorated on the fifth day of their protest. Many other politicians from other parties are also on fast at other places.
The TDP called for a shutdown in Vijayawada. Shops, businesses, petrol bunks and educational institutions closed down.
In Chitoor, veteran actor-producer Mohan Babu joined the “United Andhra” movement.
In Hyderabad, claiming that a majority of the people were against the division of Andhra Pradesh, actor-politician K. Chiranjeevi resigned from the assembly. Chiranjeevi is the 15th legislator of his party to quit.
Chiranjeevi blamed the Congress for the unprecedented political crisis in the state saying it took a unilateral decision, without consulting all the parties. “Nobody expected such huge protests and emotional outbursts for united Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
Chiranjeevi’s U-turn on Telangana only worsened the situation.
Pro-Telangana activists took to the streets in Hyderabad, stopping the screening of movies of actors opposing the proposed separate statehood to the region.
With almost all the top film personalities hailing from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, the Telugu film industry, the second biggest in India after Bollywood, is facing the threat of a total boycott in Telangana.
Noisy protests for and against the division of Andhra Pradesh forced repeated disruptions of the Lok Sabha.
Deputy Speaker Karia Munda was forced to adjourn the house for the day after warring MPs from Andhra Pradesh kept disrupting the proceedings both before and after lunch.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad added to the fire by warning: “This (division of Andhra Pradesh) is dangerous… The trend will lead to many other divisions. It will not remain limited to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.”