TRS calls for shutdown to oppose Rayala-Telangana proposal

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) called for Telangana shutdown on Thursday to protest the reported proposal of the central government to carve out a Rayala-Telangana state.

Announcing this here Tuesday night, TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao told reporters that people of Telangana want Telangana state comprising 10 districts without any conditions.

Asserting that they were ready to sacrifice their lives to oppose Rayala Telangana, he announced a protest programme to oppose the proposal and urged the people to voluntarily participate in the shutdown.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said people of Telangana would never accept "special status" to Hyderabad, saying the city is an integral part of Telangana.

Political parties and various other groups fighting for separate statehood to Telangana also rejected the proposal of Rayala-Telangana.

Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC), which is spearheading the movement for separate state, staged a silent protest at Rajghat in Delhi to oppose the proposal to merge Kurnool and Anantapur districts of Rayalaseema with Telangana.

Protests were also held in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana, demanding the central government carve out Telangana state comprising 10 districts as per the resolution passed by the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

Leading the protest at Rajghat, TJAC chairman M. Kodandaram alleged that the proposal of Rayala-Telangana was mooted to stall the formation of Telangana state. He hoped that the bill to carve Telangana state would be tabled during the winter session of parliament.

Kodandaram said there would be many more protests if the central government failed to drop the proposal of Rayala-Telangana.

Leaders of various organizations participated in the silent protest. They also met Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, seeking his support to oppose the proposal of Rayala-Telangana.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), leaders of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and various pro-Telangana groups staged protests in various parts of Telangana to oppose the proposal.

BJP leader Vidyasagar Rao said his party was opposed to Rayala-Telangana. He wanted union minister S. Jaipal Reddy to strongly oppose the proposal as this could stall the formation of Telangana state.

Rayalaseema region has four districts and two of them - Anantapur and Kurnool - are proposed to be merged with Telangana, which comprises 10 districts including Hyderabad.

Coastal Andhra comprises nine districts.