A group of students from the Osmania University here, who had been in the forefront of the recent pro-Telangana agitation, met the members of the Srikrishna Committee on Tuesday.
The students, part of the OU Joint Action Committee (JAC), put forward their demand for statehood to Telangana before the members of the Centre-appointed panel.
“We will be happy if separate statehood is achieved through Srikrishna Committee. Of course, we will continue our democratic and peaceful fight till the goal is achieved,” Manavata Roy, a students’ leader, told reporters after meeting with the panel.
The father of a youth who committed suicide for separate Telangana accompanied the team of students. “The panel members asked us why my son Srikantachary committed suicide. I told them he wanted to give a push to the Telangana agitation by sacrificing his life,” Venkatachary said.
A group fighting for united Andhra Pradesh also met the committee members who are on a three-day visit to the city since Monday.
Telangana Gazetted Officers Association, who claim that they are being discriminated against in promotions, too met the members of the committee.
The five-member panel, headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna, was formed in February after months of agitation for a separate Telangana state.
Showing posts with label Srikrishna Panel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Srikrishna Panel. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Naidu to skip meeting with Srikrishna panel
The Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, will skip the Srikrishna panel when it meets political parties. The party will adopt a strategy similar to the one it adopted when the Union home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, called an all-party meeting to discuss the Telangana issue. Two groups representing the TD from Telangana and Seema Andhra regions will make a representation before the committee when it meets them.
The TRS will be the first party to meet the panel in New Delhi and later in Hyderabad. While the Telangana TD leaders will seek bifurcation of the state, the Seema Andhra leaders of the party are yet to seek an appointment. Party sources said Seema Andhra leaders led by Mr P. Keshav and Mr D. Narendra will also seek an appointment here. “We have sought an appointment on April 23. Our stand is clear. We want Telangana,” Dr S. Venugopala Chari, TD vice-president and MLA, told this newspaper.
Asked if Mr Naidu will meet the panel, he quipped, “Will the Congress chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi meet the panel? If she does, we will think about it. As of now the representatives from both the regions will meet the panel.” Dr Chari said there is a vertical split in the TD over Telangana just as it is in the Congress and hence there were two representations.
“Though the TD is a disciplined party, the opinion is divided on Telangana,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, the war of words between TD Seema Andhra and Telangana leaders intensified. The Telangana TD leaders Dr Nagam Janardhan Reddy and Dr Chari took strong exception to the comments of party floor leader in the council, Mr Dadi Veerabhadhra Rao that the party need not stick to the decision favouring Telangana after it lost the polls.
“The TD is committed to Telangana. It was discussed in the politburo and got approved. We were committed to it in the 2009 elections too. The statement of Mr Veerabhadhra Rao is not correct,” he said.
The TRS will be the first party to meet the panel in New Delhi and later in Hyderabad. While the Telangana TD leaders will seek bifurcation of the state, the Seema Andhra leaders of the party are yet to seek an appointment. Party sources said Seema Andhra leaders led by Mr P. Keshav and Mr D. Narendra will also seek an appointment here. “We have sought an appointment on April 23. Our stand is clear. We want Telangana,” Dr S. Venugopala Chari, TD vice-president and MLA, told this newspaper.
Asked if Mr Naidu will meet the panel, he quipped, “Will the Congress chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi meet the panel? If she does, we will think about it. As of now the representatives from both the regions will meet the panel.” Dr Chari said there is a vertical split in the TD over Telangana just as it is in the Congress and hence there were two representations.
“Though the TD is a disciplined party, the opinion is divided on Telangana,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, the war of words between TD Seema Andhra and Telangana leaders intensified. The Telangana TD leaders Dr Nagam Janardhan Reddy and Dr Chari took strong exception to the comments of party floor leader in the council, Mr Dadi Veerabhadhra Rao that the party need not stick to the decision favouring Telangana after it lost the polls.
“The TD is committed to Telangana. It was discussed in the politburo and got approved. We were committed to it in the 2009 elections too. The statement of Mr Veerabhadhra Rao is not correct,” he said.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Srikrishna panel to stick to time-frame
Former Supreme Court Judge Justice B.N. Srikrishna, heading the five-member committee, to go into the demands of “separate Telangana” and “united Andhra Pradesh'', has said that the situation in Andhra Pradesh had cooled down considerably after the committee began its proceedings. He ruled out seeking extension of time for completion of the job.
“As I said earlier, we will stick to the time-frame and complete the work and submit the report to the government by December this year. I will not ask for extension,” Justice Srikrishna told The Hindu from Mumbai over phone ahead of the committee's next meeting in New Delhi on Thursday.
He said some groups and parties were seeking extension of time for filing their views and the request would be considered during its meeting. On February 20, the committee issued a notification in newspapers inviting suggestions/views from the political parties, social organisations and other stakeholders.
To a question, Justice Srikrishna said he was satisfied with the progress of the proceedings as the committee was getting good response and cooperation from various stakeholders, except some hardliners. While the committee would visit some important places in the State and collect information, the sub-committees consisting of experts would gather various inputs from different areas of the State and everything would be correlated while finalising the report, he said.
Member-Secretary V.K. Duggal told The Hindu that the committee had so far received as many as 11,000 petitions from political parties, various stakeholders, groups, intellectuals and the general public. While most of the views were crisp either for or against separate Telangana, there were some petitions which were comprehensive with background, statistics, history etc. The committee even received some emails from abroad.
He said five consultants would be appointed next week to segregate the petitions and prepare notes on them with comprehensive details on the subject. One consultant was already on the job. The personal hearings of the committee with the petitioners and others, if need be, would be held later after the petitions and letters were segregated and points taken from them, he said.
“As I said earlier, we will stick to the time-frame and complete the work and submit the report to the government by December this year. I will not ask for extension,” Justice Srikrishna told The Hindu from Mumbai over phone ahead of the committee's next meeting in New Delhi on Thursday.
He said some groups and parties were seeking extension of time for filing their views and the request would be considered during its meeting. On February 20, the committee issued a notification in newspapers inviting suggestions/views from the political parties, social organisations and other stakeholders.
To a question, Justice Srikrishna said he was satisfied with the progress of the proceedings as the committee was getting good response and cooperation from various stakeholders, except some hardliners. While the committee would visit some important places in the State and collect information, the sub-committees consisting of experts would gather various inputs from different areas of the State and everything would be correlated while finalising the report, he said.
Member-Secretary V.K. Duggal told The Hindu that the committee had so far received as many as 11,000 petitions from political parties, various stakeholders, groups, intellectuals and the general public. While most of the views were crisp either for or against separate Telangana, there were some petitions which were comprehensive with background, statistics, history etc. The committee even received some emails from abroad.
He said five consultants would be appointed next week to segregate the petitions and prepare notes on them with comprehensive details on the subject. One consultant was already on the job. The personal hearings of the committee with the petitioners and others, if need be, would be held later after the petitions and letters were segregated and points taken from them, he said.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Telangana lawyers stage protest at Hyderabad airport
A group of pro-Telangana lawyers today held a protest at the airport here just before the arrival of the members of Sri Krishna Committee appointed by the Centre to look into the statehood issue.
The advocates, raising slogans like ‘Srikrishna Committee go back’ and ‘Jai Telangana’, barged into the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport premises and tried to stage a sit-in, but were taken into custody by the police.
The lawyers last month held a massive protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and some of them breached police restrictions and reached the Parliament.
Dubbing the appointment of the panel as “delaying tactic” by the Centre, the lawyers demanded that a bill be tabled in the Parliament immediately for the formation of Telangana.
They had held protests at the headquarters of Telugu Desam here and also ‘gheraoed’ senior Congress MLA K. Jana Reddy for not quitting his post to mount pressure on the Centre.
The Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC), formed to spearhead the statehood stir, called for “peaceful protests” against the visit of the committee today and tomorrow.
“This visit is purely an introductory one. The entire committee will travel to Hyderabad and discuss with the state government officials about the facilities we need and other things,” the panel’s Member-Secretary Vinod K. Duggal has said.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Srikrishna panel to visit Andhra Pradesh on Thursday
Amid calls by various groups in Telangana to boycott the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee on the contentious statehood issue, the panel will visit Andhra Pradesh on Thursday to discuss with state government officials about infrastructure and other requirements.
The five-member committee, which will be in Hyderabad for two days, is likely to meet Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan besides holding discussions with officials about its requirements.
“This visit is purely an introductory one. The entire committee will travel to Hyderabad and discuss with the state government officials about the facilities we need and other things,” the panel’s Member-Secretary Vinod K Duggal told PTI.
“The committee also hopes to meet leaders of various political parties informally,” Mr. Duggal, a former Union Home Secretary, said.
He said the committee may also make a courtesy call on the Governor and as this is the first time the panel is meeting in Hyderabad.
The panel is also not averse to visiting other parts of the states, if needed, during future visits.
The committee will discuss with the government officials requirements in infrastructure and secretarial staff like interpreters, stenographers, recorders, conference rooms and other facilities.
This is the third meeting of the Committee since it was constituted on February 12 by the Centre. The previous meetings were held in New Delhi.
The visit assumes significance in the wake of several pro-Telangana outfits threatening to boycott the committee, saying “it will be a waste of time”.
The panel has been mandated to examine the situation in Andhra Pradesh with reference to the demand for a separate state of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of united Andhra Pradesh.
The committee is likely to start the consultation process formally with the stakeholders from the second week of this month and hopes to submit the report well before its December 31, 2010 deadline.
Other members of the committee are Ranbir Singh, vice chancellor of the National Law University (Delhi), Abu Saleh Shariff, senior research fellow in International Food Policy Research Institute (Delhi), and Rabinder Kaur, professor at the department of humanities and social sciences at Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi.
The five-member committee, which will be in Hyderabad for two days, is likely to meet Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan besides holding discussions with officials about its requirements.
“This visit is purely an introductory one. The entire committee will travel to Hyderabad and discuss with the state government officials about the facilities we need and other things,” the panel’s Member-Secretary Vinod K Duggal told PTI.
“The committee also hopes to meet leaders of various political parties informally,” Mr. Duggal, a former Union Home Secretary, said.
He said the committee may also make a courtesy call on the Governor and as this is the first time the panel is meeting in Hyderabad.
The panel is also not averse to visiting other parts of the states, if needed, during future visits.
The committee will discuss with the government officials requirements in infrastructure and secretarial staff like interpreters, stenographers, recorders, conference rooms and other facilities.
This is the third meeting of the Committee since it was constituted on February 12 by the Centre. The previous meetings were held in New Delhi.
The visit assumes significance in the wake of several pro-Telangana outfits threatening to boycott the committee, saying “it will be a waste of time”.
The panel has been mandated to examine the situation in Andhra Pradesh with reference to the demand for a separate state of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of united Andhra Pradesh.
The committee is likely to start the consultation process formally with the stakeholders from the second week of this month and hopes to submit the report well before its December 31, 2010 deadline.
Other members of the committee are Ranbir Singh, vice chancellor of the National Law University (Delhi), Abu Saleh Shariff, senior research fellow in International Food Policy Research Institute (Delhi), and Rabinder Kaur, professor at the department of humanities and social sciences at Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
BJP demands Srikrishna panel visit Telangana
The Andhra Pradesh unit of BJP on Sunday demanded that the members of Justice Srikrishna Committee visit villages in Telangana districts of Andhra Pradesh.
The five-member committee constituted by the Centre to examine demand for a separate state of Telangana and as well as the demand of unified Andhra Pradesh is scheduled to visit Hyderabad in the first week of March to hold consultations with various parties and organisations on the issue.
The people of Telangana region have been demanding for a separate state and they support the BJP, which is the only party openly supporting the people’s wish, state BJP chief and former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters here.
Just visiting Hyderabad and having consultations will not serve any purpose and let members of the Srikrishna panel visit the villages, he said.
Mr. Dattatreya said there is need for a political solution to the issue and Telangana statehood could not be achieved by the Srikrishna committee.
Referring to price rise of essential commodities, the BJP leader said the party would launch a signature campaign against the Centre and state governments for failing to curb price rise.Thursday, February 25, 2010
Telangana: V.K. Duggal seeks views before March 22
The Srikrishna Committee constituted for holding consultations on the situation in Andhra Pradesh has appealed to recognised political parties in the State to submit their views before March 22.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, ahead of a crucial meeting of the five-member committee to chalk out its future course of action on Thursday, member-secretary V.K. Duggal hoped that all political parties and groups concerned would cooperate with the panel in its dispassionate functioning. Given the time set for the panel to submit its report, there was enormous work at hand and the political parties should give their perceptions, ideas and views before the one-month deadline.
Hopeful of response
“Our effort would be to see that all the key political players in the State come forward to give their responses and I hope they will respond,” he said. Asked whether the panel would take the views of different groups within the parties which were divided on regional lines, he said the panel had written to the presidents of all the recognised parties and was hopeful that a designated person from each party would respond.
Mr. Duggal said the Jubilee Hall, MCRHRD Institute and the Lake View Guest House had been shortlisted for holding the consultations, but the panel, headquartered at New Delhi, would not have a permanent office here. He said the government had nominated IAS officer Rajiv Sarma as the nodal officer for the panel. Replying to queries, he said the details furnished by the State departments would be one source of information for the committee which would also go through the information available with the Centre besides securing data from various other sources.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, ahead of a crucial meeting of the five-member committee to chalk out its future course of action on Thursday, member-secretary V.K. Duggal hoped that all political parties and groups concerned would cooperate with the panel in its dispassionate functioning. Given the time set for the panel to submit its report, there was enormous work at hand and the political parties should give their perceptions, ideas and views before the one-month deadline.
Hopeful of response
“Our effort would be to see that all the key political players in the State come forward to give their responses and I hope they will respond,” he said. Asked whether the panel would take the views of different groups within the parties which were divided on regional lines, he said the panel had written to the presidents of all the recognised parties and was hopeful that a designated person from each party would respond.
Mr. Duggal said the Jubilee Hall, MCRHRD Institute and the Lake View Guest House had been shortlisted for holding the consultations, but the panel, headquartered at New Delhi, would not have a permanent office here. He said the government had nominated IAS officer Rajiv Sarma as the nodal officer for the panel. Replying to queries, he said the details furnished by the State departments would be one source of information for the committee which would also go through the information available with the Centre besides securing data from various other sources.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Supreme Court hearing on ToR of Srikrishna panel on April 5
The Supreme Court on Monday posted for hearing on April 5 a public interest petition for a direction to the Centre to modify the terms of reference (ToR) of the Justice Srikrishna Committee to incorporate the basis for reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh, either linguistic or administrative convenience. A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice Deepak Verma and Justice B.S. Chauhan fixed the date of hearing after brief submissions from senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for petitioners, K. Srinivas Reddy, Vasireddy Venkata Krishna Rao and K. Pushpalatha.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Congress slams KCR, deserts JAC
After snapping its ties with the Joint Action Committee (JAC) over “unilateral actions” of the TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Congress MLAs from Telangana are gearing up to chart out an independent course on the statehood issue.
They have not only quit the JAC, but also decided against resigning their membership of Assembly and Council. However, they intend to raise the statehood issue time and again. They do not plan to disrupt the legislature, but confront the government, whenever issues concerning the region are raised. “We will not hesitate to corner the government if the region is denied funds. We will demand a lion’s share in the budget for our region,” a senior MLA remarked.
Congress leaders plan to confront the JAC, if attacks on the houses continue. Congress MPs and MLAs are fuming at the unprecedented attacks by pro-Telangana activists on their residences and properties in the region at the behest of the TRS-dominated JAC. The incidents on Monday when a majority of the Congress-elected representatives faced the fury of the protestors climaxed in the exit of Congress from the JAC.
Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar told The Hindu on Tuesday that Congress leaders bore the humiliation inflicted by the JAC, but the last straw was the stone-pelting on the convoy of Higher Education Minister D. Sridhar Babu in Warangal district last week and the attack on residences of several legislators and MPs.
Mr. Prabhakar charged the JAC convenor M. Kodandaram with behaving as a TRS spokesperson and seeking instructions and directions from KCR, who was imposing his personal views and decisions on the committee. “How can the Congress party, which is the main constituent of the JAC be completely ignored when a decision on resignations were taken?” he asked.
Expresses shock
The Higher Education Minister expressed shock at the attack on the residence of his colleague V. Sunitha Laxma Reddy by the JAC protestors. “She has religiously attended the JAC protest programmes and hunger strike camps but was not spared.”
They have not only quit the JAC, but also decided against resigning their membership of Assembly and Council. However, they intend to raise the statehood issue time and again. They do not plan to disrupt the legislature, but confront the government, whenever issues concerning the region are raised. “We will not hesitate to corner the government if the region is denied funds. We will demand a lion’s share in the budget for our region,” a senior MLA remarked.
Congress leaders plan to confront the JAC, if attacks on the houses continue. Congress MPs and MLAs are fuming at the unprecedented attacks by pro-Telangana activists on their residences and properties in the region at the behest of the TRS-dominated JAC. The incidents on Monday when a majority of the Congress-elected representatives faced the fury of the protestors climaxed in the exit of Congress from the JAC.
Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar told The Hindu on Tuesday that Congress leaders bore the humiliation inflicted by the JAC, but the last straw was the stone-pelting on the convoy of Higher Education Minister D. Sridhar Babu in Warangal district last week and the attack on residences of several legislators and MPs.
Mr. Prabhakar charged the JAC convenor M. Kodandaram with behaving as a TRS spokesperson and seeking instructions and directions from KCR, who was imposing his personal views and decisions on the committee. “How can the Congress party, which is the main constituent of the JAC be completely ignored when a decision on resignations were taken?” he asked.
Expresses shock
The Higher Education Minister expressed shock at the attack on the residence of his colleague V. Sunitha Laxma Reddy by the JAC protestors. “She has religiously attended the JAC protest programmes and hunger strike camps but was not spared.”
Friday, February 12, 2010
Govt announces terms of reference for Telangana committee
Government on Friday announced a seven-point terms of reference (ToR) for the Telangana committee, saying the panel will consult all sections of people in Andhra Pradesh, especially political parties, on the demand of a separate State.
The five-member committee, headed by Justice (Retd) B.N. Srikrishna, will “examine the situation in Andhra Pradesh with reference to demand for a separate State of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of united Andhra Pradesh.
“It will review the development in the State since its formation and their impact on the progress and development of different regions of the state,” the ToR said.
The committee, which includes Ranbir Singh, Abusaleh Shariff, Ravinder Kaur and former home secretary Vinod K. Duggal as member-secretary, “will examine the impact of the recent developments in the State on the different sections of the people such as women, children, students, minorities, SCs and STs.”
It has been asked to submit its report by December 31 this year.
The ToR said the committee will “identify the key issues that must be addressed while considering the matter.”
It will “consult all sections of people, especially political parties on the aforesaid matters and elicit their views to seek from the political parties and other organisations a range of solutions that would resolve the present difficult situation and promote the welfare of all sections of people to identify the optimal solutions for this purpose and to recommend a plan of action and a roadmap.”
The panel “will consult organisations of other civil societies such as industries, trade unions, farmer organisations, women students” and “make any other suggestion and recommendations that the committee may deemed appropriate.”
On February 2, government had announced the committee which would hold wide-ranging consultations with all sections of people and different political parties and groups on “the situation in Andhra Pradesh.”
The five-member committee, headed by Justice (Retd) B.N. Srikrishna, will “examine the situation in Andhra Pradesh with reference to demand for a separate State of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of united Andhra Pradesh.
“It will review the development in the State since its formation and their impact on the progress and development of different regions of the state,” the ToR said.
The committee, which includes Ranbir Singh, Abusaleh Shariff, Ravinder Kaur and former home secretary Vinod K. Duggal as member-secretary, “will examine the impact of the recent developments in the State on the different sections of the people such as women, children, students, minorities, SCs and STs.”
It has been asked to submit its report by December 31 this year.
The ToR said the committee will “identify the key issues that must be addressed while considering the matter.”
It will “consult all sections of people, especially political parties on the aforesaid matters and elicit their views to seek from the political parties and other organisations a range of solutions that would resolve the present difficult situation and promote the welfare of all sections of people to identify the optimal solutions for this purpose and to recommend a plan of action and a roadmap.”
The panel “will consult organisations of other civil societies such as industries, trade unions, farmer organisations, women students” and “make any other suggestion and recommendations that the committee may deemed appropriate.”
On February 2, government had announced the committee which would hold wide-ranging consultations with all sections of people and different political parties and groups on “the situation in Andhra Pradesh.”
Govt announces terms of reference for Telangana committee
Government on Friday announced a seven-point terms of reference (ToR) for the Telangana committee, saying the panel will consult all sections of people in Andhra Pradesh, especially political parties, on the demand of a separate State.
The five-member committee, headed by Justice (Retd) B.N. Srikrishna, will “examine the situation in Andhra Pradesh with reference to demand for a separate State of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of united Andhra Pradesh.
“It will review the development in the State since its formation and their impact on the progress and development of different regions of the state,” the ToR said.
The committee, which includes Ranbir Singh, Abusaleh Shariff, Ravinder Kaur and former home secretary Vinod K. Duggal as member-secretary, “will examine the impact of the recent developments in the State on the different sections of the people such as women, children, students, minorities, SCs and STs.”
It has been asked to submit its report by December 31 this year.
The ToR said the committee will “identify the key issues that must be addressed while considering the matter.”
It will “consult all sections of people, especially political parties on the aforesaid matters and elicit their views to seek from the political parties and other organisations a range of solutions that would resolve the present difficult situation and promote the welfare of all sections of people to identify the optimal solutions for this purpose and to recommend a plan of action and a roadmap.”
The panel “will consult organisations of other civil societies such as industries, trade unions, farmer organisations, women students” and “make any other suggestion and recommendations that the committee may deemed appropriate.”
On February 2, government had announced the committee which would hold wide-ranging consultations with all sections of people and different political parties and groups on “the situation in Andhra Pradesh.”
