Hyderabad: The agitation for separate statehood by pro-Telangana groups is set to intensify in Hyderabad. The Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) is planning a silent protest at Indira Park on Tuesday. Activists are expected to begin an indefinite hunger strike too amidst tight security for the ongoing 19-day UN Conference on Biodiversity. On Monday, a bandh called in 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh evoked low-key response. There were minor incidents of violence at the Osmania University as students clashed with policemen.
However, this abject chaos has been a reality for Hyderabad since the separate statehood demand for Telangana re-erupted in 2009, leaving the police helpless. TJAC Chairman M Kodandaram believes that it is the political use of the police force that leads to violence. "We are trying to keep the the movement peaceful," he adds.
There is virtually nothing that has not been said about the Telangana issue. The complexities, the reactions and counter-reactions in bifurcating Andhra Pradesh have been discussed and re-discussed but the one question that remains unanswered is how long can the Centre remain silent as Hyderabad continues to suffer.
In Delhi, the Congress remained silent as protesters went on a rampage on Monday torching vehicles, breaking barricades and pelting stones at the police. Observers say that the party is waiting for the right time to make the decision but how long that would take is anybody's guess. The state Congress, meanwhile, is split down the middle. Leaders from Telangana have, in fact, openly blamed the Governor for misguding the Centre.
G Viveka, a Telangana Congress MP, caps it all. "As such allegations dominate the political mindspace, the biggest casualty in the agitation is the average Hyderabadi who suffers the fallout as the Centre plays a mute witness," he says and he may not be wrong.
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