Kiran Kumar, U-stir the butt of ridicule at Telangana bheri

The massive turnout at Nizam College grounds in the heart of the city stood testimony to the deep-set desire among the people of the region for a separate Telangana state.
Kiran Kumar, U-stir the butt of ridicule at Telangana bheri

The massive turnout at Nizam College grounds in the heart of the city  stood testimony to the deep-set desire among the people of the region for a separate Telangana state.

The nearly six-hour-long Sakala Jana Bheri was attended by people from all parts of Telangana and all sections of society. The songs of Telangana Dhoom Dham set the tone for the meeting. Most of the songs were aimed at criticising chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy for his Samaikya stance. However, the highlight of the cultural programmes was rendering of a song for Telangana by a little girl from Warangal.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao’s comment that there is a psychological divide now between Andhra and Telangana peoples seemed true, at least among the crowd, as they lustily cheered whenever the ongoing agitation in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions was ridiculed. Even the announcement of the High Court rejecting the DGP’s plea for term extension  was also received with wild applause.

In his presidential address, Telangana Joint Action Committee chairman M Kodandaram said the massive turnout should  be an eye-opener to those fighting in vain for keeping the state united .

“The demand for a Telangana state is a demand for freedom from the clutches of oppression, from the constant exploitation of its resources in every sense, from the resultant backwardness,” he said and added that the Telangana region had borne the burnt of underdevelopment in the integrated state and 75 percent of farmers’ suicides in the state were in Telangana.

Stating that division of the state was the only solution to the ills, he said it would help both sides prosper. Claiming that the fears of Andhra people that they would lose jobs and educational opportunities were baseless. He said the real worry of Andhra leaders was that they would lose the lands they had encroached and an opportunity to use their political clout to amass wealth as evident from the Jagan’s case and the allegations made against TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

He said the silence of Telangana Congress leaders over the delay in Telangana state formation process was shameful.  The speeches of other leaders were more or less on similar lines. Nagam Janardhan Reddy and Y Lakshminarayan of BJP focused on criticising the chief minister. Describing Kiran as Kiri Kiri Reddy, Nagam alleged that the linguistic fanaticism of Andhras had led to deterioration of Telangana in every sense.

TRS leaders E Rajender and K Kesava Rao, CPI’s G Mallesh, CPI-ML (New Democracy) leaders Goverdhan and Suryam and others  demanded a special session of Parliament before the winter session to pass Telangana bill.

Minority leader Hamid Md Khan emphasied that Telangana Assembly should ensure equality, equal opportunity, rightfull share of Muslims who make up 15 percent of Telangana population. Telangana Electricity Employees JAC leader Raghu said Hyderabad had electrification 20 years before the first bulb glowed in Andhra region.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com