Telangana History The Emergence of Telangana Rashtra Samiti
Contents
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti was formed on April 27, 2001. Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhara Rao founded this political party to achieve separate state for Telanganistes in the village of Mothe in Nizamabad district. He filled a bag with sand and announced dramatically that he would offer the sand to Raja Rajeswari Godesses after achieving separate Telangana. His movement for separate Telangana started from this village also. He achieved separate state for Telanganistes after 13 years and fulfiled his pledge in the sanctum sanctorum of the Goddesses temple.
The Congress Working Committee passed a resolution for separate Telangana and requested the ruling NDA government to appoint second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) to create separate Telangana in April 2001. But the Home Minister L.K. Advani rejected the Congress resolution saying that smaller states were not conducive to the development of the country.
Advani wrote a letter to the member of parliament A. Narendra that regional disparities could be settled through development and proper utilisation of the regional resources. Therefore the NDA gov-ernment rejected the proposal of separate Telangana in April 2002.
Advani rejected a proposal to include the demand for separate Telangana in NDAs election manifesto in the elections to the assembly and parliament in 2004.. He clarified that the NDA would consider this demand if the concerned parties would pass a resolution to this effect in the State Assembly.
The Congress effected an electoral understand¬ing with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and won the elections in Andhra Pradesh. The United Progressive Alliance under Congress which came to power in the Centre, agreed to include the demand for separate Telangana in its common minimum programme. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti agreed for the electoral understanding with the Congress, only on this understanding.
The state government announced in February 2009 that it had no objection for separate statehood for Telangana. It also said that the time had arrived to move decisively in this matter. All the major political parties in the state accepted the demand for sep¬arate Telangana during the elections.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi contested for 45 seats but won only 10 out of them. Among the Lok Sabha seats it contested, it won only two. The media which analysed the poll outcome concluded that the demand for separate Telangana died down.
Y.S. Rajesekhara Reddy who was sworn in as chief minister for the second time died in helicopter accident in September, 2009, creating a political vacuum.
TRS Joins the Grand Alliance
On January 31, 2009, it was announced that TRS officially joined the “Grand Alliance” headed by Telugu Desam Party and including the Third Front and various left parties, in upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. At the same time, it was announced that the Talli Telangana, led by actress Vijayashanti, had merged into the TRS. However, after the elections in Andhra Pradesh were completed, but before the counting of votes, TRS switched allegiance to the NDA, with KCR proclaiming that his party had been stabbed in the back by Congress after giving them oxygen in the 2004 elections. TRS lost 16 of its 26 seats in the Assembly, falling to fourth place with less than 4% of the Telangana History & Culture statewide Assembly vote; and lost three of its five seats in the Lok Sabha, dropping to 6.14% of the L.S vote.
On June 19, 2009, KCR submitted his resig-nation to the party General Secretary Sirikonda Madhusudhana Chary and was away from party for a short period of time after personal attacks made against him by dissident TRS leaders in the wake of the party’s electoral defeat. K.C.R. utilised this sit¬uation and started agitation again demanding for separate Telangana. Demanding that the Congress Party introduce a bill for separate Telangana in the Parliament, he began fast unto death on November 29, 2009. Many employees’ and students’ associations joined in an agitation for separate Telangana.
There was a general strike in Telangana on 6th and 7th December. When the state government held an all party meet on 7th December, all the major political parties supported the demand for separate Telangana state. The state congress and its political ally Majlis left the decision in this matter to the high command of the party and minutes of the meeting were faxed to the high command.
As the health condition of KCR on indefinite fast is worsening, the home minister P. Chidambaram announced that the Central government would start the political process for separate Telangana but the resolution over this pending in the assembly would have to be sorted out first.
Chidambaram’s announcement angered the people of Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. Students, lawyers and workers agitated for united Andhra Pradesh. Ministers and MLAs tendered resignation to their posts.
The Central government, alarmed over the unexpected developments, had withdrawn its deci¬sion, stating that a separate Telangana could only be considered after the unanimous opinion in the three regions – Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana in this regard. The Seemandhra ministers and MLAs, satisfied with the announcement of the government, withdrew their resignations. But in Telangana, the ministers, MLAs and representatives of local bodies began resigning to their posts.
Meanwhile Telangana Joint Action Council (TJAC) was formed to achieve separate Telangana with Prof. Kodandaram as its convener.
Leave a Reply